Future Foes
by TVADDiCT11
Summary: Previously titled "A Visit From the Future." About one month after "Forever Charmed," the sisters adjust to a demon free life and someone visits the Halliwells from the future. Meanwhile, in the Underworld, a new demon is rising to power and has a plan to destroy the Charmed Ones for good.
1. Unexpected

*Authors Note: I do not own any of these characters. Please enjoy and review.

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Piper looked at the box again and then looked back at the test she held in her hand. "Pregnant" the test said. "Oh my, I just can't believe it," Piper thought aloud. Sure, she knew that Leo would be so happy, he was always saying that he wanted more children, but he had only been unfrozen for a month, they were just readjusting to him being back. Piper knew that this would change everything.

Then, there was a knock on the bathroom door. "Piper, is everything okay? You have been in there for a very long time. We are worried about you" Paige asked her. Piper knew that her sisters were standing outside of the door. She needed to tell her sisters, but she knew that it would only be fair if Leo knew first-since he was the last to know her first two pregnancies.

"Phoebe, Paige I am fine. Really." Piper told her sisters once she exited the bathroom. "I have something to tell you, I just need to talk to my husband first." "Oh, okay, well he is downstairs with Wyatt and Chris." Phoebe responded sensing, from her power of empathy, worry and confusion from her sister.

Piper made her way down the stairs, her sisters following right behind her. Piper stopped when she saw her husband and her two sons playing in the conservatory. "Can we have a couple of minutes alone?" Piper asked her sisters. Paige nodded but, Phoebe started protesting which is when, Paige grabbed her arm and orbed away, seeing that the couple needed some alone time.

"Leo, I have something to tell you." Leo stood up and gave his wife a worried look. "Piper, what is wrong?" "Nothing, I just thought you would like to know that I am pregnant." Piper said smiling at her husband. "Really? Are you sure?" "Well, I have to go to the doctor to be certain but yes I think that am." Leo ran over to her and gave her a hug. "This is great news. I am so happy. I always wanted more children." With that remark, he started rubbing his wife's stomach and said, "Hi little baby, this is your father." He then faced his wife, flashed her a quick smile, and the two started kissing.

Piper pulled away from him before things went any further. "I should probably tell my sisters. Before they overreact. Phoebe, Paige, you can come back now." Her sisters orbed back into the conservatory with smiles on their faces. "Congratulations" Paige said giving Piper and Leo celebratory hugs. "I am going to be an aunt again" Phoebe beamed. "How did you know?" Piper looked at her sisters, which caused them to giggle.

"We orbed to the top of the stairs so we could overhear your conversation" Paige confessed. Piper gave them a nasty look. "We wanted to make sure that you were okay. I can't have one of my matrons-of-honor in trouble. Especially, because my wedding in only a week away." Phoebe said trying to defend their actions. Piper smiled at her sisters and the three of them hugged.

All of a sudden there was a flash of bright lights, and a young girl, in her twenties appeared before them.


	2. Mysterious Girl

*Author's note: Sorry that this chapter is a little vague. Just keep reading in order to find out more. I promise that I will update this story as often as I can. Again I do not own anything related to Charmed.

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Deztrix was a very powerful demon. Over the past five years he had been collecting powers so that he could take over the underworld. he had been sending his minions to spy on the Charmed Ones. He pretty much knew everything there was to know about them. He knew about the battle that they just fought a month ago. He knew that they were just trying to get their lives back together. He also could see the future, so he knew that they would be vulnerable in the next few months. He also knew all about the mysterious girl and he knew that she was vital for his plan to work.

He needed to be crowned the Source, so that he could take revenge on the Charmed Ones. Seven years ago, the Charmed Ones vanquished his father; he had been plotting his revenge ever since. He knew that now would be the perfect time to go and attack them. All he had to do was to get the girl first.

*****  
"Who are you?" Paige quickly asked the girl. The sisters and Leo watched her and waited for her reply. The first thing that everyone noticed about her was that she seemed familiar to them. She had long brown, wavy hair, and big beautiful blue eyes (that looked just like Prue's). She was wearing leather pants and a black halter top along with long high heel boots. After about a minute, she looked up at the sisters and Leo and smiled. "Well, are you going to tell us who you are?" asked Piper breaking the silence.

"All you need to know, for now at least, is that I am from the future. Wow, you must be getting tired of hearing that..." the girl laughed to herself. "Anyways," she continued "I am here to protect you during the next year, because you guys, 'The Charmed Ones,' will be the most vulnerable to demon attack," the girl finished looking down at Piper's stomach. Piper put her hand on her stomach and looked confusingly at the girl, "How do you know so much about us?" "Let's just say that I was forced to study your history before I left," the girl responded. Her answers made the sisters very suspicious

Phoebe had been trying to get a read on the girl. Last week she had earned her power of empathy back after she saved her boss, Elise, from a demon (he worked at the paper in the hopes of getting some information on The Charmed Ones). However, she couldn't sense any kind of emotion from her. She looked at her sisters and whispered, "I can't sense any emotion from her." Then Piper tried to both freeze her and blow her up, but neither worked. Paige then tried to orb her out of the manor, but once again nothing happened.

"Look, I get it. You guys don't trust me. And it doesn't help that I am not answering your questions. But I really am here to help you." The girl answered after the sisters' attempts to use their powers on her. "Why are you immune to the girls' powers?" Leo chimed in. "Maybe because I am a good witch. It's a sign that you can trust me. I am not here to hurt you guys in any way. I can absolutely guarantee that."

Her answer wasn't satisfactory to the sisters. However, they figured that the least they could do was to try to trust her. When Chris came back to stop Wyatt from turning evil, they didn't trust him either and he turned out to be Piper and Leo's son. This girl deserved the sisters' trust, especially because she was right, the were extremely vulnerable now especially because they didn't live together, Piper's pregnancy, and Phoebe going on her honeymoon in a week for a whole month. Besides she was just to familiar to them and they were curious about her, what she knew about them, and why she, of all people, came back to help them.

"Look I have a couple of things to take care of right now so I need to leave right now. I'll be back and then I can try to answer some of your questions if I can. I mean, I don't want to screw up my future in any way so I have to be careful how I answer your questions but I will do my best to answer," the girl stopped herself. She knew that she was rambling; she tended to ramble whenever she got nervous and she was in fact nervous. Nervous because if she wasn't careful, she really could change her future.

"Wait, can you at least tell us your name. Or what you would like for us to call you. And if you say that you can't because of that 'future consequences' crap, I will find a way to hurt you." Piper said to the mysterious girl. The girl started laughing until she looked at Piper's serious face. "You can call me Mel," Mel continued. "Just Mel?" Phoebe asked. "Yes because..." She stopped remembering Piper's threat. "I don't want to give away my identity."

"Fair enough," Paige said to Mel. Her sisters gave her a confused look. "Look when she's ready to tell us everything she will, at least to the best of her knowledge. And besides, if she wanted to do so hurt us she already would have. I mean, she is immune to our powers and everything." Paige explained. "Thanks Paige," Mel smiled at her. She then threw a potion on the ground to teleport away. She couldn't risk using her powers because then she might expose her true identity to early and miss out on her chance to finally get to know and learn from "The Charmed Ones".


	3. Needing Leo

*I should be able to update the story a little more often because all of my midterms are over and I will be having my spring break. I still don't anything related to Charmed. Please enjoy :)

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"Where did she go? And how did she know how to make that potion, that's the one that I created last year," Piper turned to her sisters after the girl was gone. "Piper, calm down, too much stress is bad for the baby," Leo said approaching his wife and placing his hand on her stomach. "I will not be calm. I don't trust her." "Piper, we need to give her a chance," Paige chimed in. "Look I just need some time to think this over and let it sink it." Piper said before storming out of the room.

Phoebe and Paige were about to follow her, but Leo stopped them. "I'll handle her. Paige, you should go and check on your husband and maybe your charges too. Phoebe go write your advice column and make sure all of your wedding details are perfect." "Leo, all of that can wait. We need to be here for Piper," Phoebe told him. Leo looked at his sister-in-laws and sighed. He had always hated how close the three of them were. "She's my wife. For a couple of months, I wasn't there for her when she needed me. Like the whole Billie and Christy thing. I know how much she loved Billie and I hate that I wasn't there to help her work through it. Let me be there for her now," Leo finished and the two sisters knew that he could handle Piper; that he needed to deal with Piper.

"And take it from me, every moment spent with loved ones is precious. You never know if it will be the last moment shared with them," Leo continued and finally Phoebe and Paige reluctantly agreed to leave. "We'll call you if something comes up." Leo added before they left. Leo grabbed his two sons and carried them upstairs. He put them into their beds so that they could nap. He then went into his bedroom and saw Piper lying on their bed. He knew that she was crying.

"Piper, how are you holding up?" Leo said as he walked over to the bed. He knelt down on the floor, so that he could look into her eyes. He grabbed her hand hoping to soothe her. She stopped crying and sat up on the bed. A few minutes passed before either one of them said anything. Finally, Piper looked at her husband and motioned for him to sit on the bed. Leo stood up and sat on the bed behind Piper so he could hold her. Piper scoot forward to make room for him and then placed her head on his chest he started to stroke her hair. They sat in silence for a few moments, both glad to be in each others arms once again.

"Leo, this was supposed to be one of the happiest days of our lives. After months and months of being apart, we finally get the chance to live a normal life. I mean I found out that we were going to have a baby," Piper paused placing her hand on her stomach. "Now, there is a strange girl claiming to be from the future, who was sent to protect us. She knows are all about us and even knows how to brew our potions as well. She seems so familiar and there is that resemblance to Prue. It is all so confusing."

"Piper, I know how hard this is for you, but I don't think that Mel is a threat to us, to our family, to our unborn child, in any way. I think that she could really help us especially, during your pregnancy. That way you won't have to fight demons and we can have the normal life that you have always dreamed of." "How did you know I was worried about our unborn child? Or rather that this girl could be after our child." "Well for starters, I know you. I am your husband remember? And I thought that it was a little suspicious that someone claiming to be from the future decided to come back the exact day we found out about our child, especially because she knew about your pregnancy. So if I had these fears, then I knew that you were probably thinking about the same things." "I was," Piper responded. She was reassured that her fears were not irrational. She looked up at Leo and whispered to him, "Do you trust her?" "I'm not sure yet," was all he responded.

Ten minutes passed before Piper broke the comfortable silence between them. "Leo can I ask you something." "Sure love, anything." "Are you really happy about the baby? Be honest you won't hurt my feelings or anything if you not." "Piper, this is amazing news. It has made me the happiest and luckiest guy in the world. I always wanted a big family." Leo responded rubbing his wife's stomach. "I love you so much for giving me this amazing life and this amazing family. I don't deserve any of it," Leo continued. Piper smiled and looked into her husbands eyes, "I love you so much Leo. I don't think I could have done anything if I didn't have you in my life." Piper responded before pulling down his head so that she could kiss him.


	4. Future Girl's Tale

*So today I was feeling very generous and decided to not only write but also post two chapters! This chapter is very exciting because Mel's identity will be revealed (only her family origins, but I am withholding the information about the future that she comes from, so that part will still be vague). Please enjoy and review to let me know what you think. Thank you for your support.

* * *

Mel was glad that she was able to get away before she revealed to much to the sisters. She realized that one day she wasn't going to be able to keep all of her secrets. Every time she came near them, she knew they would keep asking her questions. The sisters wouldn't trust her until she told them anything. Paige might trust her the faster than Phoebe and Piper, but she knew that the others, especially Piper, were not going to be that accepting of her that easily. She would have to make them trust her. She just needed to figure out how to do it.

Mel teleported in front of a herb shop. She needed to pick up the ingredients necessary to brew the potion that made her immune to the sisters' powers. She took the potion right before she left, but she could already feel the effects wearing off. As she started mixing in the ingredients of the potion, she remembered her mother teaching her how to make the potion when she was only six years old...

_"Mel, only add a pinch of yarrow root when you want to shield yourself from relatives' powers" her mother explained. "Okay mommy," Mel said looking up at her mother's face. The mother-daughter duo was in the kitchen brewing up different potions while at the same time cooking dinner. Well, Mel was only there to help with dinner and receive her first lesson in potion making. "But, since we're not using this on our relatives, we are just going to skip that step," her mother continued. "Mommy, then why are we making this potion. Who are you going to use it on?" Mel asked. Her mother looked at her daughter before replying, "On demons. I am going on a demon hunt tonight. Now go get your brothers and tell them that dinner is ready," her mother had said. "Okay I will mommy, be safe. I love you." "I love you too sweetie," her mother replied walking over and giving her a hug and a kiss on her forehead. "I always will no matter what."_

She shook her head to clear it of the memory. Her mother was always going on some sort of demon hunt. She never really had time for her. Melinda sighed wishing she could change things so she wouldn't have to go back to her future. She thought that she could change her future now that she was sent to the past but she stopped herself. "No Melinda, you're not here to fix your future. You are only here to make sure they don't die over this next year," Mel thought to herself. Mel continued to make her potion battling whether she should change the future. "Besides, what if I actually figure out a way to change the future, but I make it worse?," she thought to herself.

When she finally finished the potion, she drank it as quickly to avoid the horrible taste that the yarrow root gave it. She then decided that she needed to head back to the Halliwell Manor so she could figure out how to get the sisters to trust her. Since she didn't have the time or the ingredients to make another teleportation potion, she decided to walk so she could clear her head and allow for potion to take effect. It also helped that walking would delay that she had to keep secrets from her family.


	5. Dinner Guest

*I know the whole future generation Halliwell coming back to save the world is so overdone, which is why my story is different. She doesn't want to change her future, she is strictly sent to protect the sisters. Besides, there is a major twist coming up soon. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I had writer's block. So here is a longer chapter to make up for my writer's block. I'll try to update the story as soon as I can. Still don't own Charmed...

It was nightfall by the time that Mel reached the manor. The walk helped her to clear her mind. She thought about her future and the Halliwells. The sisters were going to keep asking her questions, even though they knew that she would not be able to answer them. On her walk, she wanted to make up a story, one that explained her origins. However, she hated lying, especially to her family. So she decided to tell them the truth-just without any details. She took a deep breath, walked up to the Manor door and knocked.

**XXXXX**

Deztrix followed Mel all the way from the herb shop. He wanted to stop her and snatch her up so that he could enact his plan. However, he knew that he had to earn her trust before he tried anything. And he knew that the girl would have to gain the Halliwells' trust as well. So, he stood back in the shadows and waited.

**XXXXX**

Piper and Leo had just sat down to a lovely, romantic dinner when they heard the knock. The boys were upstairs sleeping. "What now?" Piper asked standing up. "It is probably just Mel or one of your sisters." "Or Leo, it could be a demon or some other magical being, sent to destroy our happiness." " Piper, calm down. No one has been sent to destroy our happiness, and demons don't normally knock." Leo replied laughing at his wife. " Can't we just have one uninterrupted dinner? Is that too much to ask for?" "One day we will. I promise you that." Leo said before smiling and kissing his wife on the forehead. "We should probably answer the door now," Leo continued.

Piper reluctantly agreed and open the door. Mel was standing there shivering from the cold. Piper almost slammed the door in her face but stopped herself and let her in. "Hi Piper and Leo. I know that I am the last person you want to see right now. And I hope that I am not interrupting anything, but I really won't hurt you." Piper sighed and looked at the girl. She then exchanged looks with Leo. Piper decided to try to give the girl a chance.

"Mel, have you eaten anything yet?" Piper said looking back at Mel. "No, I haven't had the chance to yet." "We were just about to sit down for dinner, would you like to join us?" Piper asked her. "Yeah sure, I am starving." Mel replied. She couldn't even remember the last time she had a home cooked meal. The three of them then went to the kitchen to eat dinner. They mostly ate in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Piper looked at the girl and sighed before attempting to make conversation with the girl. "So Mel, is there any information you can tell us, so we can get to know you better?"

"Um, well, I am nineteen years old. I am a witch. I come from the year 2026. My birthday is March 21. I am currently attempting to get my degree in business. My parents divorced when I was four. I have two older brothers. I don't really talk to one of my brothers. My other brother and I are really close." Mel answered Piper. Piper could sense that Mel was holding something from her and was about to ask more questions, but decided not to because didn't want to pressure Mel; she didn't want to push her away. They finished the rest of the meal in silence. Piper kept glancing at Mel, still confused who the girl was. She thought of a way to watch over Mel. She was going to ask her to move into the Manor.

"Mel, do you have a place to stay? I mean if you want it there is an extra room upstairs" "Um sure, that would be great considering I don't have any plans or money for that matter," Mel responded taken aback by Piper's sudden change in attitude towards her. She wasn't going to question it, in case she suddenly changed her mind. "Perfect, I will go get the room ready," Piper said standing up taking the dishes. "Piper, let me wash those, you cooked the meal," Leo chimed in, after not saying anything all dinner long. He had been carefully watching Mel the entire time. Mel got up and quickly thanked Piper for dinner and for letting her move into the Manor. All she wanted to do was go to sleep so she could be well rested for the next day.

She followed Piper up the stairs to the room. "Here is the room. I will have breakfast ready in the morning," Piper said as she turned to leave. "Piper, before you go I would like to tell you that I will live here under one condition, I mean, I am so grateful that you are letting me stay here, but I will not stay here unless this one condition is met," Mel said before Piper left. "What is your condition?" Piper asked looking at Mel. "No questions about my life when Phoebe and Paige aren't here." Seeing Piper's confused look, she quickly explained, "I don't want to be bombarded by the same questions by all three of you." "Okay that seems fair," Piper replied. "Goodnight Piper and thank you for understanding." "Goodnight Mel." Piper responded before shutting the door.


	6. Suspicions and Preparations

*Piper has suspicions of who Mel is because I didn't want her to seem stupid or ignorant or anything like that. Please enjoy and review.

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The sisters for the most part left Mel alone. They were too focused on Phoebe's upcoming wedding. Mel was also preparing for the wedding. Not that she was invited or anything, but she knew that demons would attack during the first ceremony, which would cause the sisters to postpone the wedding. She also knew that Paige would be critically injured during this attack. For the past couple of days she had been doing research to figure out how to vanquish the demons.

She decided to check the book, but she had no idea what the demons looked like. She then decided that the best way for her to find out who was going to attack was to go to the underworld. She brewed some of the strongest potions that the sisters created and orbed down there herself. She didn't tell the sisters that she was leaving, but she did leave a note for Piper that said, "Will be out of town for a couple of days. Will explain later." Mel knew that this note would not help earn Piper's trust, but she knew that if she told the sisters, then they would try to stop her or worse, join her and see her using her powers. This mission was something that she had to do alone.

**XXXXX**

Piper saw the note from Mel. It had been three days since her arrival, but Piper hadn't seen her since the dinner that first night. Mel was always gone by the time that she woke up in the morning and didn't get home until Piper was asleep. Because Mel was never at the Manor, Piper could not ask her any questions about anything, especially about what she had said at dinner. Mel had told Piper that she had two brothers, which made Piper more suspicious about Mel's true identity. She had voiced her suspicions to Leo later that night.

"Leo, I think that Mel is our daughter." Piper announced after she closed their bedroom door. "What makes you say that?" Leo asked his wife. "Well, for starters she knows everything about us, she brews our potions, she is a witch with two older brothers, and she looks like Prue," Piper replied walking over to her bed.

"I think that she is too. I was watching her at dinner, and she reminds me so much of you." Leo remarked. "What do you mean?" Piper questioned. "Well, for example, you and her ate your spaghetti in the same way. You twirl the noodles around your fork, before eating them," Leo explained. "Yeah, but other people eat their spaghetti that way, that doesn't prove anything." "Both you and her push a strand of your hair behind your ear then take a bite," Leo continued. "Oh," was all Piper replied.

"I think that the only way for us to be sure is to just ask her," Leo suggested. "You're right, I'll have to ask her the next time that my sisters are over." Leo gave Piper a puzzled look. "Her only condition was that I could only ask her questions about her when both Paige and Phoebe were here. If we bombarded her with too many questions, she threatened to move out." Piper told Leo. "Well, she definitely has that Halliwell stubbornness." Leo joked. Piper just glared at him.

**XXXXX**

Mel orbed into the underworld. She looked around at the nearly, deserted landscape. She was shocked; she had temporarily forgotten that she was in the past and that most of the demons had been wiped out by the Charmed Ones and that the demons of her time weren't around yet. They needed some time to regroup. She heard some talking and went to check it out. She hid behind a rock wall and overheard a group of seven demons talking. They were planning to attack the Manor in two days time (at Phoebe's wedding) because that's when "he" wanted to grab the girl. Mel had no idea who the "he" was that they were referring to, but she knew that he had to be pretty powerful, in order to round up a demonic faction willing to attack the Charmed Ones. Mel needed to stop them from attacking. If she destroyed this faction, then maybe she could gain the sisters' trust.

**XXXXX**

Two days passed and Mel finally orbed back to the Manor. She had stayed in the underworld trying to gather a much information on the faction and who "he" was. Even though she knew that all three of the sisters were going to be in the house-Phoebe wanted to get married in the Manor because both of her sisters had been married there, and since her other two marriages failed, she thought that the Manor was good luck-she went down the stairs to the conservatory. Everyone was in there making sure that everything looked perfect. Piper turned and saw Mel standing in the doorway.

"Mel, good to see that you're back," Piper announced. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her. "You better start explaining," Piper continued. "Piper, I know that I have to tell you where I was for the past week, but we don't have time for that. A demonic faction is going to attack during the wedding, and Paige is going to get seriously injured. You need to cancel the wedding, or at least postpone it." Mel begged the sisters. "Mel, I have waited too long to have this wedding and the chance to start my family," Phoebe interrupted. "Phoebe, look all I am suggesting is to send all of your non-magical guests away and postpone the wedding. Hell, you could even move the wedding to magic school, but if you keep the wedding here, dozens of innocent lives could be lost." Mel advised.

Phoebe took a deep breath before making a decision. Mel was right, she shouldn't risk innocent lives just so she could have her perfect wedding. "Pheebs, what do you want to do?" Piper asked her sister. "Cancel the wedding. Or at least tell the guests that the wedding is cancelled. I don't want to put anyone at risk, but I do like your idea. I think that we should move the wedding to magic school." Phoebe told everyone. "I think you should get married right now. I can deal with the demons by myself." Mel volunteered to everyone. "We won't let you risk yourself for us. We will stay and help." Piper replied, with concern on her face. After all if this girl was her daughter, she didn't want her to die just so that she could gain the sisters' trust. "No, I can do this by myself. Besides I don't think they will hurt me. I believe that the leader wants me for something. I will call you guys if I need you, I promise. Now go."' She remotely orbed them all to magic school and prepared for battle.


	7. Angels, Demons, and Weddings

*The Angel of Destiny is the same one from season 8. Oh and I realized that I made a small mathematical error. Mel is from the year 2026, not 2025. This isn't important for this chapter, but it will be for later ones. Please enjoy and review.

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"How the hell did we end up in magic school?" Piper asked. She looked around and noticed that her whole family was there-her kids, her father, her husband, and her brother-in-laws. "I think that Mel _orbed_ us her or at least remotely orbed us up here," Paige concluded. "We have to get back and help her before she gets herself killed!" Piper exclaimed. "Paige orb us home now." Phoebe demanded. Paige went over and grabbed her sisters' hands and tried to orb them back to the manor. "I can't. I think we are stuck her." Paige declared. "Coop, can you beam out?" Piper asked her almost brother-in-law. "No, I can't," a frustrated Coop responded to Piper. "I think that she cast some sort of spell that won't let anyone leave magic school," Leo suggested.

"Oh she is so _grounded_ for the rest of her life!" Piper exclaimed. "Piper, you can't ground her. She is only your house guest, not your daughter," Phoebe tried to explain to Piper. In all of the commotion of the wedding, Piper had forgotten to voice her suspicions to her sisters. "Well see, Leo and I both think that she is our daughter. I just sort of forgot to tell you guys who I think that Mel is," Piper confused to her family. "Okay, we'll talk about Mel's identity later. We need to figure out a way out of here," Phoebe interrupted. "I mean I would still like to get married today!" she continued.

"What do you suggest that we do?" Piper demanded. Just then the Angel of Destiny appeared before them. "I have a suggestion," she chimed in.

**XXXXX**

Mel knew that the sisters' would be furious about her locking them in magic school, but it was something that she had to do, in order to protect them. She also knew that she pretty much gave up her identity by using her active powers. She didn't have that much time to dwell on what just had happen. Minutes after she orbed the family to magic school, the demons started their attack.

**XXXXX**

"What are you doing here?" Piper asked the Angel. "I was sent by the Elders to perform the wedding of Phoebe and Coop. It was their wedding gift." "Phoebe, this is a huge honor. I think that we should have her marry us," Coop pleaded with his bride to be. "We can't leave anyways and Mel will take care of the demons. Besides, we are all dressed already," Coop continued. Phoebe took a deep breath and looked at Coop and then looked at her sisters. They nodded in agreement. "Okay, let's get married," Phoebe exclaimed.

Mel was standing in the middle of the conservatory. The demonic faction shimmered in forming a circle around her. "Where are the Charmed Ones?" one of the demons asked Mel. "Oh, you just missed them," Mel smiled at the demons. "That's too bad. He is going to be so pissed that we had to kill you," the first demon smiled back to Mel. "Oh really, you guys won't be able to kill me," "Girl, if you cannot see you are outnumbered, we could kill you in our sleep," a second demon chimed in. "Only in your dreams. See, I am the daughter of one of the Charmed Ones, which makes me very powerful," Mel replied to the second demon throwing a potion, instantly killing him. Before the others could react, Mel vanquished two other demons. The first demon threw a fireball at Mel. Mel orbed away before the fireball could hit her, hitting the demon that was standing behind her. When she orbed back into the room, a demon threw a fireball at her before she could react. The attack sent her flying and she hit the wall behind her, which caused all of her potions to fall out of her pockets and break on the floor.

Mel stood up and realized that she was still outnumbered and she had no means of defending herself. The three demons started moving closer to her, trapping her in a corner. "Oh, crap," Mel thought to herself not sure if she was going to get out of this battle alive.

**XXXXX**

Deztrix watched the battle from outside of the manor. He didn't want to Mel to figure out who was behind the attack. He needed her to gain his trust. He was also angry at the demons because he made them swear on their lives that they wouldn't attack her. Now she was stranded in a corner with no to defend herself. "Where are the Charmed One's? Why weren't they there?" he thought to himself. In his vision, he saw the whole family gathered for Phoebe's wedding at the manor. He saw the faction coming in and attack them and he saw the youngest get hit so hard that she landed in a coma. Deztrix didn't understand why his plan didn't work out the way he foresaw it. Granted, the middle one could also see the future, but he knew that the Charmed Ones would never let the girl fight all those demons by herself. He knew that the girl was behind the change in his plan.

Her determination to protect the family that didn't even trust her, made him want her that much more.

**XXXXX**

"Do you, Phoebe Halliwell, take this man to be your lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better and worse, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" "I DO!" "Then by the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kissed the bride." Coop leaned over and kissed Phoebe and everyone started applauding. The Angel smiled at the couple before leaving. Everyone started congratulating the couple.

After the applause died down, Paige looked at her sisters. "I think someone is calling for me," Paige explained. "Is it one of your charges?" Leo asked her. "No, I think that it is Mel. I think that she is in trouble," Paige answered him. "We need to go help her," Piper pleaded with everyone. "How we're stuck up here?" Phoebe wondered. "I think that she reversed the spell," Paige answered. She orbed and was able to leave. She went to the manor and saw Mel cornered by three demons. They were firing fireballs at her and she was able to orb away before they hit her. Paige knew that she wasn't going to survive much longer.

Paige orbed to her sisters and reported what she saw. Piper handed Chris off to Leo. Phoebe gave Coop a quick kiss and Paige handed Henry her purse. The three of them linked arms and shouted "We will be back for you guys. Love you," before orbing to the manor.

**XXXXX**

Mel hoped that Paige had heard her cries for help. The demons kept firing fireballs at her and she kept dodging them. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep dodging them much longer. She reversed the spell, hoping that the sisters would come to her rescue. Right after casting the reversal spell, a demon threw a fireball at her. She didn't have any time to react and the fireball pushed her into the wall, knocking her out cold.

**XXXXX**

When Mel came to, she saw Piper blowing up the last of the demons. Paige was healing Phoebe from a fireball attack. The rest of the family had come back-Wyatt, orbed Victor, and Henry, while Coop beamed Leo and Chris home. Once Phoebe was healed, Paige walked over and healed her. Mel was so glad that she decided not to take that potion that blocked the sisters' powers. Paige helped her up to her feet and everyone started looking at her. "We need to talk," Piper declared looking at Mel.


	8. Questions

*I have started writing a new story about Piper and Leo, which I will try to upload as soon as possible. I have decided to just combine chapter 8 "Questions" with chapter 9 "Piper's daughter. I thought that it made the story flow more. Still don't own Charmed. Enjoy and review :)

* * *

Mel looked up at her family. They all formed a circle around her and waited for her to say something; they wanted her to explain her actions. Mel stood there in silence. Mel knew that her cover had been blown, that they knew how she was. Or at least they thought they knew. She took a deep breath and looked around the room. Most of the people in the room she knew or at least seen pictures of, but had never met because they were either dead, or missing. The people she had met, well they were different people then the ones standing before her. Different because they were still caring, and loving, never wanting anything bad to happen to her.

No, this wasn't her family, she had to get away before they started questioning her. Even though she was only trying to protect them, they would only see it as a suicidal attempt to earn their trust. They would yell, lecture, and finally forgive, but they would never understand her actions. They would never understand her, or the future that she came from (not that she would tell them, because they would try to change it).

Mel finally looked at Piper. Mel had been avoiding Piper's gaze ever since she spoke. Mel knew that she and the sisters' did need to talk, but she couldn't face them, at least not yet. She took a deep breath and finally replied, "I know that we need to talk. I just can't at least not now. I'm so sorry," before orbing away.

**XXXXX**

"Where the hell did she go? Paige, see if you can sense her and find her. If something happens to her, I don't know what I would do," Piper stated. With the last statement, she had started crying. Leo walked over to her and held her in his arms to comfort her. "Piper, nothing is going to happen to our little girl," He said reassuringly.

Victor, after witnessing his daughters and Paige fight demons, stepped in the middle of the circle. "Who was that? Is she a demon? And why are Piper and Leo talking about their daughter, they don't have one right?" he asked confusingly. Both Coop and Henry also had confused looks on their faces. Piper smiled, between the wedding, and the demons, everyone forgot to tell these men what was going on. She stepped away from Leo and looked up at her father. "Leo and I... Dad, I am pregnant."

**XXXXX**

"Piper, you're pregnant? And the baby is Leo's?" Victor asked his daughter. He looked at the couple, still angry that Piper had accepted Leo back into her life, after all that he had put her through when he decided to become an Elder. "Dad, we've been through this. I love Leo and I always will no matter what. He's my soulmate, my true love, my best friend, and the father of my children. I've forgiven him for everything that happened and you should too," Piper told her father. "I know Piper, and I am sorry Leo, I want what's best for my daughters-and Paige I am including you in this conversation because for the past five years you have been a part of their life, my life..." Victor said looking at Paige and continuing, "You girls are all I have left. I don't want you to make the same mistakes that I did; I don't want you to end up all alone." "Dad, Leo isn't going anywhere anytime soon. He is what is best for me. I wouldn't survive without him," Piper answered her father before giving him a hug.

The two hugged for a minute. Then Victor pulled away and looked at his daughter, "What does your pregnancy have to do with that girl?" he asked her. "Well, I think that she is my daughter, from the future." "You think, as in you don't know?" Victor asked. Piper walked over to the couch and sat next to Leo. During her and her father's hug, Paige put the boys in their room for a nap while everyone else sat in the living room. "Well, she has only been here a week, and she has been avoiding me so I haven't had the chance to ask her for sure," Piper started. "Why do you even think that she is your daughter?" Victor inquired.

Piper sighed. Her sisters' looked at her also wanting to know the answer. "Okay, this may seem crazy, but," Piper paused not sure how to continue. She looked at Leo for some help. "She eats the same way as Piper," Leo chimed in trying to help his wife. "That's all you guys have," Phoebe asked them. "Not a very compelling argument," agreed Paige. "No, there's also the fact that she knows everything about us, and she knows about the future," Piper explained. "She could be a demon, sent to destroy us," Paige replied. "Yeah, our powers don't work on her," Phoebe continued. "And she also has whitelighter powers, and last time I checked, Leo is a mortal," Paige finished.

"I think her being a whitelighter, proves she is not a demon. Besides the whitelighter part-I can't explain that-she is so familiar to me. She has Prue's eyes. Not just because they are the same color, but she gets the same look on her face that Prue did when she is thinking or when she is sad," Piper told her family. "I actually got a read on her before she left. She definitely afraid of something, like us finding out something, but then she looked at you and she felt that you knew her secret which was why I think she left," Phoebe chimed in. "If she is your daughter, why does she have whitelighter powers?" Paige asked everyone. "I have been wondering the same thing," Leo confessed. "I would question your actions Piper, but I know how much you hate _Them_, and I know you would never cheat on me," Leo teased.

Piper smiled before answering, "I would never cheat on you, especially not with another whitelighter or anyone else connected to _Them. _However, maybe...that's it!" Piper shrieked. "What, you cheating on Leo?" Phoebe mocked. "No, Phoebe if you must know Leo and I conceived our baby the night that he was returned to me," Piper replied smiling at Leo while Leo smiled back at her. "Ew, don't want that image in my head," Phoebe screamed. Piper slapped her on the arm. "Before I was so rudely interrupted, the Elders. _They _gave her whitelighter powers. As a 'gift' for everything that they put us through," Piper explained. "That would make sense. After all _They _do like to interfere with people's lives and everything," Leo finished. "But why would they do this?" Paige asked, "Why else, so they can reconstitute the Charmed Ones' when the next generation is ready. By giving her whitelighter powers, the new Charmed Ones' will also be Twice-Blessed as well, making them more powerful then you girls," Leo concluded.

Every sat around thinking about what Leo had said. Finally Piper broke the silence that had formed, "Phoebe, Coop you guys should go on your honeymoon." "We're not leaving you alone to deal with Mel," Phoebe argued. "Phoebe go. Celebrate your marriage. You deserve it. I am sure that I can handle my daughter." "But, Piper," Phoebe started. "Phoebe go before I force you out," Piper interrupted. "Okay fine, but if you need me for anything don't hesitate to call. I am only a quick beam away," Phoebe conceded. With that remark she got up and wrapped herself in Coop's arms. Coop turned to Piper and mouthed a quick "thank you" and left with Phoebe.

"Paige, you should go home too," Piper turned to her younger sister. "But, what about Mel?" "Like I told Phoebe, I can handle her. Now go, spend some time with your husband," Piper insisted. Paige and Henry stood up and got ready to leave. "Oh, and can you orb my dad home?" Piper asked. "Yeah sure, come on Victor." "Bye Piper. Congratulations. And Leo, I am sorry for everything I said earlier." Victor remarked. "Bye Victor. Don't worry about it, if I was in your position, I would probably act the same way," Leo interrupted. Paige orbed out of the manor with Victor and Henry in tow.

Once everyone had left, Leo looked at Piper. "Leo, promise me that we won't let what Mel said happen. Promise me that no matter what, we will stay together," Piper pleaded while giving Leo a hug. Leo gave her a confused look. "What do you mean Piper?" "Leo, if Mel is our daughter, then that means we are going to divorce in like five years from now." "I still have no idea what you are talking about. Like you told your father, I am not going anywhere anytime soon. We saw the future, and we were happy and together fifty years from now. Why would you say something like that?" "Because Leo, Mel told us at dinner that her parents divorced when she was four. If we're her parents, then that means we're heading for divorce." "Baby, you don't have to worry. We have been through so much. I would never willingly divorce you, or let you divorce me," Leo reassured his wife. Leo tilted her head up to him and started to kiss her. "I love you Leo," Piper moaned against his lips. "I love you Piper," Leo whispered back.


	9. Love and Fear

*I have been suffering from writers' block again. I'm sorry that I haven't updated this story. Anyways, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy and review :)

* * *

Mel had been missing for two weeks. Piper tried everything she could think of to find her. She casted spell after spell, and she scried for the witch. She even tried calling for the girl, but Mel didn't respond. She stayed up in the attic hoping that by some miracle, the girl decided to come home. After every failed attempt, Piper became more and more devastated; she thought that the girl left, returned back to the future. Or that she was kidnapped. Or worse: dead.

**XXXXX**

Mel had heard Piper's calls, but after a while, she put Piper on mute. She even cast a spell that prevented Piper from magically finding her. She knew that her disappearance caused Piper pain and that Piper was worrying about her, but she was not ready to talk; she was not ready to face the fact that Piper knew who she was. Mel was foolish, thinking that she could trick her mother, even with her fake glamour-a glamour she used to try to hide her identity; a glamour that actually helped Piper figure out who she was. Her mother was the smartest woman that she knew. Her cunningness allowed for her to be the most successful demon hunter of all time.

Mel knew that Piper wasn't going to stop looking for her until she knew the truth. She took a deep breath and orbed into the manor to finally face the woman who had birthed her.

**XXXXX**

Piper turned when she heard someone orbing in. She looked at the girl, confused at who she was. The girl was basically a younger, clone of herself, except that this girl had bright pink hair. Her heart knew who it was. This girl was her daughter. "Mel, is that you?"

The pink headed girl looked up and nodded. She took a deep breath and tried to explain her appearance. "Yes Piper, I am Mel. This is how I actually look. I don't have long brown hair, I don't have blue, Prue-like eyes." The girl paused, not sure how to proceed. "Why do you look different? Is it a glamour? You look just like me when I was your age," Piper pointed out. "I know that's why I glamoured into the girl you first met. I thought that if I changed my appearance you wouldn't be able to figure out who I was. I wanted to protect my identity, but you probably figured it out as soon as I used my powers. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to deceive you. I just came here to help," Mel finished.

"I actually figured out who you were the after dinner that first night. Everything about you just seemed so familiar. I just knew that you had to be a Halliwell. And then I just guessed that you were my daughter. Even Leo believed that you had to be ours just based on how you eat. Just wait until he actually sees what you look like. No one will question that I am not your mother," Piper smiled at the girl while taking a step closer to her.

Mel looked back at Piper before instinctively taking a step away from Piper, which caused Piper confusion. "If I am her mother, why is she treating me like I am a stranger?" Piper wondered to herself. Piper looked at Mel. There was fear on Mel's face. Fear of her. "Why is she afraid of me? Am I a horrible mother?" Piper held back the tears that came with these thoughts. She continued to look at the girl waiting for her to say something.

Mel saw the look on Piper's face. Piper wanted an answer; she wanted to know the truth, but telling Piper the truth might actually break her heart. Piper wouldn't believe her if she told her the truth. Piper would want to fix the horrible future; she would want to fix their broken relationship. She would want to change the future, but Mel wasn't here for that.

Piper continued to stare at Mel for ten minutes. Mel avoided eye contact with the older woman. Mel still had a fearful look on her face. Mel knew that Piper didn't understand Mel's fear. Mel finally took a deep breath and shook the fearful look off of her face. This woman wasn't her mother, at least not yet. This woman was kind, and caring. This woman would sacrifice herself for her family. She was not the demon-slaying, revenge seeking, power-hungry woman that raised Mel-at least not yet. Mel figured that she deserved to know the truth, at least the part that wouldn't change her future-her identity.

Mel finally looked Piper in the eye and quickly mumbled, "I am your daughter," before orbing away.


	10. Consequences

* From this point on words in italics are memories and bolded words are premonitions. I also decided to make future Piper worse than I had originally planned, meaning that she is going to be a very horrible mother. So sorry if her actions and attitude towards her children offends anybody.

* * *

Piper stared at the space that once contained her daughter. She couldn't believe that Mel was her daughter. She had her suspicions sure, but now that they were confirmed they scared her. Mel was her daughter. She couldn't stop saying that in her head. Those weren't the only thoughts in her head. Piper kept trying to figure out why, her daughter, was so afraid of her. What had she done as a mother to alienate the girl? What was her future like? Why did she come back? And why was her hair pink?

The more that Piper thought, the more that she began to feel woozy. She was going to faint. "Leo help me. LEO!" She called out before passing out.

**XXXXX**

Mel couldn't believe that she revealed her identity, to Piper no less. Sure she loved her mother, but her mother's love felt forced, especially as she got older. Piper was always fighting some stupid demon instead of actually caring for her. If it wasn't for her brothers, especially Chris, she would be all alone. Ever since they were children, they had made a vow to protect each other.

That all changed of course when Wyatt became a teenager. He had changed. He left Chris and her, with their mother.

_"Wyatt, what are you saying? You can't leave us here all alone with her!" Chris yelled at his older brother after he had told both of his siblings that he had decided to become a full whitelighter. He was going to renounce his witch powers and finally answer the Elder's call. Their mother had forbidden them to contact the Elders or any other whitelighter (or former whitelighter-their father). "Come join me. She won't be able to hurt either one of you ever again," Wyatt pleaded with his siblings. "We said that we would always protect each other. You leaving is breaking that promise," Chris continued. Mel looked at her two brothers. She had been silently crying while the two were arguing. Her brothers continued arguing until Wyatt finally orbed out. _

Mel shook the memory out of her head. That was the last time she had seen Wyatt. She was eleven at the time. Piper was furious when she found out. Of course, she took her anger out on Chris and Mel. As a punishment, she forced her youngest children to fight upper level demons by themselves. They had barely escaped with their lives and when they got home, Piper was angry that they were late to dinner.

**XXXXX**

"Piper, what happened?" Leo said while helping Piper up from the floor. "Do you need me to call Paige? Are you hurt? Did a demon attack? Is the baby okay?" "Leo, I get that you are worried, but I am fine. I just got a little light-headed and I fainted. I'm fine. And if the baby was hurt, you would know because then something would happen to Mel," Piper reassured her husband. "Piper, we don't know for sure that Mel is our daughter," Leo said with a confused look on his face. "Actually Leo, you just missed her. She finally came clean with me. She is our daughter. Oh, and she looks a lot like me," Piper said. "Don't worry, I'll explain later," She replied seeing the look on her husband's face. "I am worried about the future she comes from. She was very fearful around me. So all of these thoughts popped into my head about how I was a bad mother, and I fainted," Piper continued. "Piper, you are a great mother. I don't think she was fearful of you, maybe just of this situation," Leo replied. "Now you need to rest. You can worry about our daughter later," Leo finished ushering his wife into their bedroom. Piper agreed to lie in the bed only to get Leo of her back. She knew that she wouldn't be able to rest until Mel answered more of her questions.

**XXXXX**

**Then the newborn baby looked up at his mother and fell asleep in her arms. The mother looked up from the baby and looked at the father. "Look what we did. We created the evilest creature ever to walk the earth." Deztrix smiled back at the mother, his wife, a former 'Charmed One' and replied "Yes, we did." **

Deztrix smiled. He was so thrilled by this premonition. This new power was so worth killing the demonic seer over even though he had been banished. He knew that he would escape his imprisonment and take over as ruler. He looked over at himself in the mirror, so happy that he was finally going to get his revenge on the ones who killed his father. And he was going to have a son, more powerful than any other creature ever. He knew that his plan was finally ready to be put into action.

**XXXXX**

Mel had orbed herself onto the Golden Gate Bridge. It had been her first time up there. She now understood why Chris liked to sneak up here as often as he could. It was so peaceful here. Plus, it was the one place that her mother couldn't find him. She made a mental note to come up here if she ever returned to the future. She sighed. She knew that she was being unreasonable to Piper. Mel couldn't get over what the woman would become. She couldn't allow herself to get close with this Piper, because the Piper she would return to wouldn't be the same compassionate, loving woman. That's why she always left the room as soon as Piper looked at her, or tried to get to know her.

Her mother wasn't always that bad. She was loving at first, but as Mel grew older, Piper's love dwindled down. No, that wasn't fair. Mel believed that Piper still loved her. Her mother just had interesting ways to show it.

_Piper looked at her children. She was so disappointed that they weren't the powerful second generation 'Charmed Ones' that she thought they would be. Her eldest, her most cherished, her golden son had abandoned them when she needed him most. He was just like his father in that way. Mel looked up at her mother, seeing all of the hurt and disappointment that her and her brother had brought her. Piper then looked up at the demon and nodded. Her children started screaming as soon as the whipping started. They were supposed to be whipped for every minute that they were late to dinner. They were a half an hour late. And since Mel's powers were all passive, then she was going to get half as many whippings as Chris. Mel screamed and begged the demon to stop. He wouldn't, not until his job was done. Piper was angry that her children forced her to punish them. Or at least hire a demon to punish them, seeing how she could never physically hurt her children herself. She hired this low-level demon to punish them. In return, she had promised the demon that he would be spared, once the war was over, whenever that was going to be. Finally, her children's punishment was nearing the end. She sighed, hating the fact that she had to prepare her young children for battle, but since they were now down a Charmed One, they needed to be prepared for anything. She wouldn't be able to survive if she lost them too. _

Mel stopped thinking about that painful memory. She hadn't realized that she was crying. She wiped away the tears that had fallen from her face. If only things were different. If only her family had still been together, then these painful memories would have never happened. No, she couldn't allow herself to think like that. She couldn't have hopes for a better future, especially if she had to go back to that horrible one that she came from. She wasn't here to change anything, she reminded herself.

She sighed, finally deciding that she should go back to the Manor. As much as it hurt to see her mother, her family needed her. She was the only one who knew that something very bad was going to happen soon-the event that started her whole dark future.


	11. Halliwells and Demons

*I have planned out this story. I know how it is going to end. All I need to do is finish writing it. Still don't own Charmed. Please enjoy and review :)

* * *

It had been two weeks since Mel revealed that she was Piper's daughter, but she continued to avoid her family. It was just too painful seeing them, knowing what would become of them. She kept herself busy by vanquishing demons in the Underworld. She knew that she wouldn't be able to avoid her family forever, but she couldn't face them, at least not yet.

**XXXXX**

"See, I told you that I was a horrible mother," Piper yelled at Leo after another failed attempt at calling for her daughter. Piper hadn't seen or talked to Mel in over two weeks. Mel was obviously avoiding her. She only came home for small periods of time, normally to grab something to eat or to take a quick shower after a demon vanquish. It was never enough time for Piper to see her, let alone talk to her. Piper just wanted to know why the girl feared her.

"Her not coming, doesn't prove that you're a horrible mother. It just proves that she is very busy," Leo reassured his wife. Ever since Piper had told him that Mel was for sure their daughter, he wanted to talk to her, and figure out why her future was so horrible, so that he could do everything in his power to stop it. He knew that he needed to stop it from happening, because according to her, he would soon be losing his family; the family he had so desperately fought for; the family he had always wanted.

"What could make her so busy? It's not like she knows anybody here. She hasn't even been born yet!" Piper exclaimed to her husband. "I think she's hunting demons," Leo answered her. "We could be doing that together!" Piper sighed. Leo looked at her before hugging her. "She's just trying to keep you and the baby safe. I don't really think she can afford anything happening to you during your pregnancy," Leo smiled placing his hand on Piper's still flat stomach. Piper smiled and placed her hand over Leo's. "Yeah, so I'm pregnant, but I am not dead. I could help her. We would be an unstoppable mother-daughter demon hunting duo. Maybe then we could bond and she wouldn't fear me so much," Piper responded. Leo didn't respond, but instead continued to hold his wife in his arms. Piper looked down at her watch. "My sisters will be here soon. We better go get the boys ready." Leo nodded, reluctant to let his wife go. He never wanted to let her go.

**XXXXX**

Mel had been covered in demon guts, when she orbed back to the Manor. All she wanted to do was take a shower and sleep. She looked at the calender. "It has been two weeks already! Oh no" Mel whispered to herself. Phoebe was coming home today. She quickly orbed to the attic and started brewing potions hoping she wasn't too late.

**XXXXX**

Piper headed downstairs. She was finally going to see her sisters again. She had missed her sisters. Paige had been busy with her charges, and didn't stop by that often and Phoebe had been on her honeymoon. Seeing them there in the conservatory made Piper so happy; she felt so whole again. Her sisters looked up from their nephew, Wyatt. He had orbed downstairs as soon as he heard Phoebe and Paige orb into the manor. Leo had followed Piper down the stairs, holding Chris in his arms. He was going to take the boys to the park so his wife and her sisters could have some much needed sister time together.

Phoebe and Paige said hello to Leo and Chris when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Leo smiled and waved before quickly grabbing Wyatt, the car keys, and leaving the sisters alone. The sisters turned to each other and hugged. They were so happy to be together once again. They quickly started to catch up with their lives. After an hour Phoebe turned to her sisters. "I'M PREGNANT!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, unable to keep her secret any longer. "PHOEBE, I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!" both Piper and Paige yelled back. The three sisters started hugging and asked her all sorts of questions. In their excitement, they hadn't noticed the demons that had shimmered in.

**XXXXX**

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Mel yelled at the demons. She knew that the demons would attack the moment when the sisters were not paying attention. She quickly threw two potions at the demons, vanquishing them. The other demons turned towards her and started throwing energy balls at her.

The sisters quickly stopped hugging and got ready for battle. There was a total of eight demons standing before Mel. Piper's maternal instincts quickly kicked in and ran to her daughter's side. She started blowing up the demons, but realized that her powers had little effect on the demons. Paige joined her sister and orbed the energy balls back to the demons, but was not successful. The only thing that seemed to vanquish them was Mel's potions.

Mel saw her mother and her aunts trying to vanquish the demons. Their powers weren't working on the demons, which she knew that they wouldn't. These demons were immune to witches' powers. It's what made them so powerful. Mel had wished that she could have come back just a little bit earlier to warn the sisters and teach them how to brew the potion that actually killed them because this wasn't going to be the last time that the sisters fought them. She threw more potion at the demons. Finally, there was only two of them left. The problem was Mel had run out of potions. There was only one way that her family was getting out of this alive.

"Piper, Phoebe, Paige, say the power of three spell. It is the only way to finish these two demons off," Mel yelled at the sisters. The sisters looked at the pink-haired girl and understood. They joined hands and started chanting "The power of three will set us free. The power of three will set us free. The power of three will set us free." The three sisters chanted and the remaining demons were finally vanquished.

Mel sighed a sigh of relief. She had saved the sisters from one of the many attacks they would face during their pregnancies. This would not be the last attack during these next nine months. This was the reason she had been sent back: to help them. To help her family. To save them from having to fight demons during their entire pregnancies. Mel looked at Paige. She had no idea that she was pregnant with twins. She would find out soon enough. Then she could explain why the sisters' needed protection. She was only protecting them because she needed to be born, but other than that she wasn't going to change her awful future.

**XXXXX**

"Who were those demons? And why were they immune to our powers? How did you know how to vanquish them?" Piper yelled at her daughter. Mel was deep in thought and had been startled by Piper's yelling. She turned to look towards her mother. Her mother deserved answers. No, she needed to know that these demons would keep coming after her and her sisters, with the hopes of killing the Charmed One's unborn daughters. Mel took a deep breath before answering her mother's questions.

"Those are known as the Imperviousers. They are a breed of demon that are immune to witches' active powers. I knew how to vanquish them because well, let's just say I've had to face them before," Mel stopped remembering when she had to face them:

_"Children, I have another vanquish for you. I must warn you however, that these demons are not easy to defeat. They are immune to our powers. Oh and they like to eat magical children," Piper told her children. Ten-year-old Mel looked up at her mother, "Then how are we supposed to defeat them? Aren't they going to eat us?" she had asked. Piper smiled at her daughter. "They might try to eat you, you just have to vanquish them before they get the chance. I brewed a potion that will defeat them, but you and your brothers will not have access to it. It will only be used on those demons when you fail, which I know you will. Anyways, I'm giving you twenty minutes to defeat the demons before I will finish the job for you. Now go. Make mommy proud," Piper yelled before throwing a potion, teleporting her children to the Underworld. _

_They landed in the Underworld with a thud. There was a group of twenty demons and Mel and her brothers had landed right in the middle of their circle. The demons took one whiff of the Halliwells and knew that they were magical children. They started towards them ready to feast on some of the most powerful children they had ever encountered. Mel hid behind Chris. Wyatt instantly took charge of the situation. He grabbed his siblings' hands and ordered them to say the power of three spell. It was the only thing that had come to mind. The siblings chanted and chanted and the demons were vanquished. Piper teleported down to the Underworld and was thrilled that her children survived the demon hunt. "See I knew you would figure it out before you were eaten; before the 'Twice-Blessed Charmed Ones' were destroyed. And you didn't even need a potion." _

Mel shook her head remembering where she was. The sisters kept staring at her. She took a deep breath before continuing. The sisters had to know everything about these demons so that they could be prepared. "These demons feed on magical children. They can sense the children, even in utero. They don't stop until their prey is dead. Since you all are pregnant, they will keep attacking you until they get to your babies. That's why I came back," She finished. Phoebe looked up at her niece. Piper had filled in her siblings about Mel. "There is something that you're not telling us. What?" Phoebe sensed from Mel. Mel sighed. "In my timeline, no one was here to stop the attack and they did some serious damage. They managed to impale Piper, which is where I got this scar," Mel confessed revealing a huge scar that stretched from her belly button to the top of her chest. "You were able to vanquish the demons eventually, and Piper was healed, but not before I got hurt." Mel lied. She couldn't tell them how she really got her scar, but at least they bought her story.

"Wait, you said since all of us are pregnant. What did you mean by that?" Paige looked at Mel with a confused expression. Mel mentally smacked herself for revealing future information. "Oh well she'll find out soon enough," Mel thought to herself. She looked back at Paige. "You're pregnant too," Mel whispered before orbing away.


	12. Opportunities

*Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy and review :)

* * *

"MEL GET BACK HERE NOW!" Piper yelled after her daughter. "DON'T IGNORE ME! YOU ARE SO GROUNDED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!" Piper continued. She sighed, knowing her daughter wasn't going to come. She definitely had that Halliwell stubbornness.

"She likes to drop a bombshell and then orb away, doesn't she," Phoebe observed. Piper smiled and turned to hug her sister. The two of them looked at Paige who was standing silently. Paige was still in shock. She wasn't sure if she was ready for a baby and had no idea how Henry would feel about. They hadn't really talked about having children, especially because both of them were very busy-him with his paroles and her with her charges. She felt someone looking at her and turned to look at her sisters.

"Are you okay Paige?" Piper asked her sister. "Um, I'm not sure. I'm just in shock. I mean, I'm going to be a mother. I don't have time for that. And Henry, I'm not even sure what he'd say. I mean..." Paige rambled on. "Sweetie everything will be fine. I promise you that," Phoebe interrupted her. She walked over and gave the younger woman a hug. "You sure?" Paige asked. "Yes, because you have us. We will be here for you no matter what," Piper smiled and walked over to her, joining in their hug.

After a few minutes of silence Phoebe cried out, "Oh my God! The Charmed Ones are all pregnant at the same time!" "Our poor husbands," Paige laughed. "These should be an interesting couple of months," Piper smiled. The three sisters started hugging and laughing and eventually went to the kitchen for some lunch.

**XXXXX**

**The girl threw a fireball at the first witch, instantly killing her. Before the other one could react, a second fireball was thrown killing the other witch. Deztrix and the girl embraced before flaming to the Underworld. No one could stop them now. **

Deztrix smiled at this premonition. His plan would work, the only problem was escaping from the Underworld. And he had only one year to do it.

**XXXXX**

Mel looked down at the newspaper. She couldn't believe that in exactly one year from today, the event would happen. She screamed. She just wanted to stop the event, then maybe she wouldn't have such a horrible future. She could actually have the loving family that she saw back at the Manor. "All I would need to do was find the demon responsible behind the attack and vanquish him before he got the chance to..." Mel stopped. She shouldn't be thinking like this. "He would be so angry at you for even thinking you could fix anything," she thought as she remembered the wise words of her older brother, the one who sent her back:

_"I am sending you back. The sisters need protection from demons. Since, they have no idea who you are, you are the best candidate for this job. I'll distract Mom so she doesn't notice that you are gone," Chris informed Mel. "Okay, I'll go to protect them, even though they don't deserve my protection, seeing how none of them cared enough to ever protect me," Mel replied annoyed that she was going to have to protect her "family." Maybe she could stop everything from happening, so that she wouldn't have to live through this hell._

_"Melinda, listen to me, you cannot change anything, no matter how much you want to," Chis told his sister, reading her thoughts. He wasn't a telepath or anything, like her, but the look on her face said everything that she was thinking. "But," Melinda started. Chris interrupted her, "It's not your destiny to change anything. Everything happens for a reason. Besides, it's dangerous and you don't even know how to go about changing anything."_

It was so unfair! An alternate version of him was allowed to change the dark future that he came from, one where Wyatt was evil, all of their family members were dead, and she didn't even exist, why couldn't she! Piper had explained to her children about all of the future visits she and her sisters had when they were younger. Piper wanted them to know what kind of pain others went through for them.

She took a deep breath and stopped thinking about the future. She needed to concentrate on the present. She orbed back into the attic to go find another demon to vanquish.

**XXXXX**

Phoebe and Paige left around eight o' clock that night. Leo volunteered to give the boys their baths and put them to bed. Piper needed to talk to Mel. She still hadn't had the chance to talk to Mel every since she confessed her identity. Piper still had her questions about why Mel looked fearful towards her. No matter what Leo had said to comfort her, it didn't make her doubts about her being a horrible mother go away. She was about to knock on Mel's bedroom door, but she heard a crash coming from the attic. She quickly made her way up to the attic.

"Mel, is everything okay?" Piper asked entering the attic. There she saw three demons ready to throw energy balls at an unconscious Mel. "GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" Piper bellowed before flicking her wrists, vanquishing all of the demons at once. She ran over to Mel and started calling for Paige. Paige healed her and helped her to her feet. "What happened here," Paige looked at Mel and Piper. "Those were some of the Imperviousers. Before I got the chance to fight, one of them flung me across the wall, knocking me unconscious. They must have come back to finish you off. Thanks for vanquishing them again. Where's Phoebe?" Mel asked after telling her story.

"Phoebe is at home. I'm only here because Piper called me to heal you." Paige said. "Then who vanquished the demons?" Mel asked looking at Piper. "I did." Piper admitted. "I mean, I came in here and saw the demons wanting to kill you and suddenly I flicked my wrists and all of the demons were vanquished at once." Piper explained. "How? They are immune to witches' powers?" Mel asked before looking at Piper. "Oh no her quest for power has already started," Mel thought to herself. She looked back at her mother fearfully.

"Maybe it was your maternal instincts added to the fact that you're pregnant. I mean when you were pregnant with Wyatt, you were able to tap into his powers, which made you stronger. So maybe you tapped into Mel's to help fight off the demons," Paige volunteered seeing Mel's face.

"That's probably it," Piper stated also noticing the look on Mel's face. "Oh, no she has that look on her face again," Piper thought to herself. Mel just nodded. Paige looked at the mother-daughter pair, identical except for the hair, and sensed that they needed to talk. "I think I'm going to go home now to talk to Henry," Paige said breaking the silence. "Bye, Paige thank you." Both Piper and Mel chimed in at the same time. The two women stared at each other.

Piper finally broke the awkward silence. "We need to talk. Please don't run away. I just want to know more about you. After all, you are my daughter and everything. Please tell me about you." Piper pleaded with Mel. Mel looked at her mother. Or at least the woman who her mother used to be. Mel sighed, knowing that it was time for her to come clean. "Before you ask any questions, just note that I'm not revealing anything that could risk changing my future." Mel responded. Piper nodded. "What do you want to know?" Mel asked Piper.

"Why is your hair pink?" Piper asked Mel. Mel smiled. "I was making this potion and I got distracted, because my cell phone rang, and I accidently added the wrong ingredient and the potion went 'Poof' and the next thing I knew was that my hair was pink," Mel replied, telling her mother a version of the truth. "Why didn't you change it back?" Piper asked. "I like it. Besides, I don't look like you as much; I mean I get to be my own person," Mel answered hoping Piper bought her excuse. Mel hated that she looked so much like her mother; everyone always compared Mel to her mother. She sighed remembering what had happened when her mother saw her new hairstyle:

_"Mel, you ruined the potion. And turned your hair pink. What were you thinking?" Piper asked her pink-haired daughter. "I'm sorry I would have been more successful at making this potion if someone hadn't shimmered in here unexpectedly," Mel grumbled at her mother looking at her demonic stepfather. Mel hated her stepfather. He tried to touch her every chance that he got. Her mother didn't believe her. Her mother always sided with her husband of twelve years, even when she was a child. Mel always knew what he wanted to do to her, because of her telepathy and was able to orb away before he could actually do anything to her, but it would be better if her mother cared. _

_"I told you, I was looking for your mother. It's my house too. I can shimmer where ever I choose," Her stepfather yelled at her. Mel knew that he was in fact looking for her. Now that she was eighteen, he felt that he had to have her. He found her extremely beautiful. Plus she was a younger, identical version of his wife. "Besides, I no longer look identical to YOU!" Mel screamed after reading her stepfather's thoughts about what he would do to her and orbing away. _

Mel shook the memory from her mind and look back at her mother. She had obviously asked Mel something because she was waiting for Mel to answer. "I'm sorry can you repeat the question?" Mel asked. "I asked if I was a horrible mother because you're always so fearful towards me. Also why you don't call your aunts 'Aunt Phoebe' or 'Aunt Paige' when you talk to them. You also seem to be very distant towards everyone. Why?"

Mel sighed. She knew her mother should know the truth, but couldn't bring herself to tell her anything. She took a deep breath. "Your not a bad mother, you just make horrible decisions. And I don't call them 'Aunt Phoebe' or 'Aunt Paige' because we're not that close in the future. So it would be weird to start doing that now," Mel explained hoping her mother would stop asking her questions so that she could shower and sleep. Mel also didn't want her mother to ask why Mel wasn't close to her mother's sisters, because Mel knew that it would break Piper's heart and change her whole future. Piper would try to stop the event-the death of her sisters. Especially, if she knew that she had only one year left with them.


	13. Resisting the Urges

*Sorry that I haven't updated this story, I have been having computer problems. Also I'm sorry about any mistakes in this chapter, I typed it on my Ipod. The next few chapters jump around in time a lot. The amount of time that has passed will be in parentheses. Please read and enjoy :)

* * *

Piper kept staring at her daughter. "what did she mean that she wasn't close with her aunts?" Piper thought to herself. Before she got the chance to ask her what she meant, Mel shook her head and orbed out of the room.

**XXXXX**

(One Week Later)

Mel hadn't been able to face her mother ever since that day in the attic. She knew that she wouldn't be able to lie any longer. She had always hating lying and she was always a horrible liar. Being around her family was forcing her to lie and she hated it, but she also couldn't tell them the truth, at least not yet. Her family couldn't handle what would become of them.

Mel decided that the best way to stop lying was to just avoid her family altogether. She stayed in the Underworld. She had found a small, abandoned cave perfect to live in. She cloaked the cave from demons and other magical beings, like her mother. She felt oddly at home her in this cave.

**XXXXX**

(One Month Later)

For the first couple of weeks, Piper worried every second about Mel. She tried every magical way of finding her daughter. Piper wanted to spend every minute trying to look for her and eventually her search landed in her in the hospital. Then she was put on mandatory bed rest until she kept her blood pressure and stress levels down.

She kept trying to find her even from her bed. Her husband and her sisters had to stop her from trying. They stayed in her room alongside her. Eventually every one convinced her that Mel would come back when she was ready.

**XXXXX**

Deztrix had heard the rumors that a witch was living in an abandoned cave down in the Underworld. He knew exactly who the witch was. He smiled to himself and knew that she felt some sort of pull to the Underworld, to that cave, to him. He knew that his way out of his banishment was through her.

**XXXXX**

(Six Weeks Later)

Piper had been on bed rest for six weeks now. She was five months pregnant. She was so tired of being on bed rest and she was also quite bored. She was alone most of the time. Her sisters and her husband had kept her company as often as they could, whenever their work allowed for it. Her children were at school and Mel still hadn't returned.

She missed her daughter so much and hoped that she was okay. Her family had convinced her to stop worrying about Mel but Piper had been having this feeling that something was wrong or that something had happened to her.

**XXXXX**

For six weeks Deztrix had tried to escape his confinement. He tried shimmering and said spell after spell but he just couldn't leave. Then he came up with a brilliant plan.

**XXXXX**

Every one left Mel alone. She only left her cave to eat and shower. Instead of going to the Manor and risk running into her family members, she orbed herself to Magic School. She glamoured her appearance so no one, mainly her father, recognized her. Once she was done, she orbed back to her cave. She had no idea how much time had passed. She knew that her family not only missed her but they needed her.

**XXXXX**

"I know how to vanquish the witch. I know how to get past her magical charms." Deztrix yelled at the group of demons assembled before him. He had astrally projected himself out of his confinement, and even though his escape wasn't permanent, it gave him hope, hope that one day he could be ruling the Underworld for real and the horde of demons that had assembled before him would actually be willing to do his bidding.

"Why should we trust you? You have been put into confinement for a reason Deztrix." Letro, an upper-level demon quickly asked him.

"Because I know how to kill the Charmed Ones for good." Deztrix smiled evilly.

**XXXXX**

Mel had just orbed back into her cave. She once again tried to read the spell that would send her back to the future. Time traveling spells were tricky, but she needed the spell to work, so that she could stop lying to her family. She really wanted to get back to her own time, that way she wouldn't feel all of the hurt and longing that she felt around them.

She sighed as the spell failed again. She knew that she would need the power of three to send her back. She cursed silently to herself, upset that she couldn't tap into the power of three. "Why doesn't work when I actually need it too!?" She knew the reason because her aunts and her mother were still the 'Charmed Ones,' the power hadn't transferred over to her and her brothers yet because she was stuck in the past. Frustrated, Mel laid down on her bed to try and get some sleep.

**XXXXX**

Mel had been asleep for all of five minutes before she heard the demons outside of her cave. They couldn't see it but she knew that it wouldn't be long before they found it. She was about to orb out but stopped when she heard the voice of her stepfather. The fear inside of her began to rise.

**XXXXX**

Letro and the other demons agreed to let Deztrix out of his confinement after he brought them to the witch. Letro and the others agreed that Deztrix couldn't be trusted with killing the witch because everyone knew he would take her powers and these new powers would bring Deztrix power, matching the vanquished Source's and he would demand to be crowned the new source. Letro or any other demon did not want to be ruled by the source ever again.

**XXXXX**

Deztrix quickly found the girl. He could sense her easily. His heart melted at the thought of being this close to her. He shook any thoughts of her from his head knowing they would scare her away from him. "She's behind this wall." Deztrix yelled to the crowd. The demons threw fireballs at the wall until finally it had been destroyed. There they saw the witch frozen with fear. "Deztrix, I end you banishment," Letro confidently declared. Now that the source was dead and all other upper level demons were vanquished, he was pretty much the ruler of the Underworld. Letro looked at the girl and smiled. "She is making this too easy for me. She's really pretty. I could do so much to her beautiful body." He thought to himself.

**XXXXX**

Mel heard her stepfather's thoughts. He was the same old demon that she had known her whole life. She cringed at his thoughts and wanted to run away. Instinctively she wanted to orb with him to the manor and let the power of three kill the bastard who ruined her family forever, but then she would change her future. Then she saw the fireball forming in his hands and she prepared for battle. She grabbed the potion in her pocket and threw it at him before finally orbing to the Manor.


	14. Young Heart, Old Pains

*So the moment you have been waiting for is here. Mel reveals what her future is like to Piper. I'm thinking of writing a prequel type story to this one, explaining Mel's future in full detail. Or at least filling in the holes from this story a little bit more. So please enjoy and thank you for all of the reviews.

* * *

Piper had just returned home from her doctor's appointment when she saw Mel sitting on the bottom step, Piper placed her keys on the table and took a step towards the young girl. She saw Mel holding a blood-stained cloth to her arm. "Mel what happened?" Piper said grabbing her arm to examine the wound. Mel winced in pain.

"I picked a fight with a demon. I read his mind and got disgusted with his thoughts, so I threw a potion at his face. I mean I knew that it wasn't strong enough to vanquish him, but it definitely did some damage. Then after I threw the potion, I orbed away, but the demon followed me and threw a fireball at my arm when I wasn't looking. Then I retaliated by saying this spell that would make me invisible to him and I threw another potion at him, taking off one of his arms. Before he got the chance to attack me, I orbed here."

"Why didn't you call Paige?" Piper asked. "It slipped my mind, I guess. Next time I will," Mel answered. "There will be no next time because you are not allowed to go demon hunting without me or my sisters present, do you understand me?" Piper replied. "Oh, now you think that you can parent me? I have been doing just fine my whole life without you!" Mel yelled at her mother. She was too tired to orb so she turned to walk up the stairs. Mel mentally smacked herself for revealing future information, but she no longer cared; she had already changed her future.

**XXXXX**

Piper wanted to yell and scream out at her daughter for walking away during their fight. But the last thing that Mel had said to her struck a chord. Mel had just confirmed Piper's worst fear, that she was a horrible mother to her children.

**XXXXX**

(One month later)  
For the last month Mel had been living at Magic School. All of her family, except her mother, had come to see her and tried to convince her to go back to the Manor. Piper hadn't stopped crying ever since their fight. Piper didn't tell them why she was crying, but did tell them about their fight. Mel knew that Piper was crying because of what Mel yelled at her.

One day she decided to go back. But first she orbed herself to the Golden Gate Bridge to clear her mind. Mel knew that she needed to apologize and finally reveal her future to her mother. Because if she didn't explain her future, Piper would never understand why Mel yelled those things to her. Piper would never realize that Mel needed to yell those things to her mother because she had never had the chance to. But Mel came to her senses and realized how irrational she was being. She was punishing a woman for a crime that she had yet to commit.

After sitting on top of the bridge for an hour, she had finally found the courage to face her mother. She took a deep breath and orbed back to the Manor, sensing that Piper was there.

**XXXXX**

Piper was sitting on the couch, watching her two sons play together with some of their toys when she heard someone orbing in. She looked up to see Mel sitting on the chair opposite from her. "Hi, stranger. Haven't seen you in a while," Piper chimed in coldly. Mel sensed her mother's coldness towards her, but continued anyway. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that to you. I was just angry and I was just displacing my anger." "Mel, I forgive you. I'm sorry too. I don't really know that much about you and I think I was just scared that I was going to lose you before I got the chance to get to know you." Both women sat in silence thinking about what to say next.

"I've decided that I'm ready to talk. You deserve an explanation for my distant behavior," Mel said breaking the silence. "Aren't you worried about future consequences?" Piper asked. "No, I don't care anymore. I'm pretty sure I have changed the future," Mel concluded. "Okay, let's hear it," Piper said. "Where do you want me to begin?" Mel wondered. "Start from the beginning," Piper demanded.

"Um, well, just to warn you. I come from a very dark, horrible future. You might not like what you are about to hear. And I wasn't sent here to change it. In fact, I don't think I even want to change it, at least not anymore then I already have," Mel started. Piper nodded. Mel took a deep breath.

"It all started about six months after I was born. A demon kills both of your sisters. Then slowly the family you knew falls apart little by little. First, Coop asks you to bind his daughter's witch powers, so that she can just live her life like a normal cupid. You agree and never see them again. A year later, Paige's twins grow into their powers and Henry can't figure out how to protect them from demon attacks. So you offer to bind their powers. Then a couple months later, Henry gets this job offer in New York, and he takes it and we never hear from them again." Mel paused not sure to proceed with her story. She looked at Piper and Piper nodded, urging her to keep going.

"Then when I was four and you and Leo divorced," Mel continued. "Wait, why did we divorce?" Piper interrupted. "It's not important. Remember I'm not here to change anything," Piper nodded. "Okay, fine. Please continue."

"When I was six, a war between good and evil broke out. Since the 'Charmed Ones' were defeated, good started losing which allowed for evil to take over the world. All magic was exposed, but neither side really cared. Both sides recruited mortals to help fight the war. They would infuse them with magic, with powers, so that they would be able to fight. Even children were trained to fight the enemy."

"After a couple of months the war shifted from a war between good and evil to a war over power. Those beings that gained the most power, in the end would definitely be in control once the war was over. So everyone searched for power. People killed each other for their powers, some not even caring which side they fought for; some people went to battle just so they can have power. Most of the Earth's population has been wiped out, and only the most powerful have survived over the last thirteen years," Mel paused still looking at her mother.

"What started the war?" Piper asked her daughter. "My brothers and I used the power of three to kill the source of all evil. The only problem was that we were so powerful, it had caused a shift in the world to good. Then the Elders and whomever their evil counterparts are, convened and realized that they messed up the grand design by allowing us to be twice-blessed. So they tried to put the world back in order, and messed up again, shifting the world towards evil. Everyone agreed to not intervene and see if we could figure it out for ourselves."

"Wait, you and your brothers are what started this war?" Piper asked. She couldn't handle the knowledge that her children started a massive war. "No, not directly at least. It was the Elders that messed up." "Oh, okay. So you come from a world at war. Is that why you distance yourself from everyone?" Piper asked her daughter. "No, that is a whole separate issue."

Mel paused and took a deep breath. "I distance myself from everyone because I really don't know what it means to be in a family. I was kind of left to fend for myself. I mean my brothers and I were left to fend for ourselves. You become the most powerful, successful hunter on the planet. Well at least you and your husband are," "Wait, I thought you said that Leo and I were divorced?" Piper interrupted. "You are. You marry someone else when I am seven. He's a demon, a very powerful one at that. You and your husband are the two most powerful beings alive. Your marriage allows for you two to share powers; you can use his powers and he can use yours. No one can figure out how to beat you guys." Mel responded.

"What about Leo? What happens to him? And why do we divorce?" Piper asked. "You cheated on him. You were under the influence of a spell. I don't know what happens to him really. You told us that he was dead. And he stopped fighting for us. There is a rumor going around that you cast some sort of memory spell on him so he would forget about us." Mel answered. Piper looked at her daughter, horrified at what she was saying, but wanted her to go on.

"So onto the reason that I fear you. You hired a demon to beat us every time we fail, which is all of the time because we can never live up to your expectations. That's why I have all of these scars all over my body." Mel finished and looked at Piper. Piper was silently trying to process all that Mel had told her. "Oh, I am a horrible mother. No wonder she acts fearful towards me, she is afraid that I'm going to hurt her," Piper thought to herself.

"I'm going to bed now, I've said too much. I'm sorry that I upset you. Goodnight," Mel said before orbing to her room. Piper stayed on the couch and then the tears started to fall. She looked at her sons and then at her stomach. "I'm going to fix this. I promise, even if it's the last thing I do," Piper whispered to all of her children, secretly hoping that Mel heard her in some way.


	15. Talking to Family

*I am deciding to add another chapter to my story which means that I have nine chapters left of this story to right. This chapter is very demon-centric. Thanks for all the reviews they really mean a lot to me. Here is the next chapter. Enjoy :)

* * *

Letro wanted revenge on the witch. Her potions scarred up his face and took of one of his arms. The arm grew back because of his power of regeneration, but he was angry that she blew it off in the first place. Letro could only focus on getting his revenge.

**XXXXX**

Deztrix had spent the last two months of his freedom collecting the final powers he would need to enact his plan. He would demand to become the source of all evil, then using his newly acquired shapeshifting power, he would go to the girl and have the most evil and powerful creature ever. He shimmered into the cave of the one demon who was stopping him from his dreams.

**XXXXX**

"I see that your arm has grown back," Deztrix said pulling Letro away from his thoughts. "I see that you're back to your old ways. How many powers do you have now?" Letro looked up at the demon. "Enough to become the new source," Deztrix replied. "Brother, when will you learn? I am way more powerful than you. The only way that you will become the new source is over my dead body. And I'm sure that your pathetic sense of family will prevent you from killing me," Letro continued.

Deztrix looked up at Letro. The two were only half-brothers but they were close, or at least they used to be close. They were half-demons, from their father's side, but were raised together by their father. Both of their mortal mothers died giving birth to them and their father raised them in the Underworld. Their father was a very powerful demon and had taught his sons how to become the most powerful and feared creatures of all time. He had also taught them how to defeat the source so that they could rule the Underworld together-all three of them. They would have been an unstoppable trio if the witches hadn't killed their father-which ultimately tore the two brothers apart.

"That could be arranged brother. The witch weakened you and I have been collecting powers for the past month. I am tired of living in your shadow. We could have ruled the world together, taken out the witches that killed our father, and been unstoppable, but you had to fall in love with one of them secretly. I mean if you love her so much why don't you marry her?" Deztrix asked his brother. "Shut up. I have a plan for the witch, you leave her out of this. I don't want to make the same mistakes that the other demons who have fallen for the witches okay. My plan takes time," Letro snapped at Deztrix.

"Haha the mighty Letro is in love with a witch. Pathetic. What happened to you brother. You who used to be so powerful and so feared amongst demons and witches alike. Your love has made you weak!" Deztrix laughed at his brother. "I don't know why you're laughing Deztrix. I know that you love a witch too. I saw the way that you looked at the witch who did this to me," Letro replied stopping Deztrix's laughter. "I only need her to help me kill the witches who killed father-your witch. And to bear my evil son. Once that is over, I will kill her and take her powers and the 'Charmed Ones' will be charmed no longer."

**XXXXX**

"You're joking and everything that you just said is a lie right?" Paige asked Piper. The two of them along with Phoebe and Leo were in the living room. Piper had just finished telling them all about Mel's future. Everyone looked at Piper waiting for her to respond. "I wish I was. Trust me this sounds like an awful future, one that I don't have any of you guys, one that I don't want to live in, but it's the truth," Piper replied. "It's just so unfair. That after everything we've been through that evil is still going to win in the end. I feel like I just wasted the last few years of my life!" Paige replied standing up from her seat. "Why did we go through everything and get promise so much for us not even to live through it," Phoebe replied while sitting on the chair with tears in her eyes, her hand on her tiny baby bump.

"I wish, as your older sister, that I had the answer to all of your remarks. It's all I have been thinking about the last couple of hours, ever since Mel told me her future. But we're going to fix this. I promise you that," Piper said trying to comfort her younger sisters. Her words did nothing to soothe the younger women. "I need some time to process this alone. Paige, can you please orb me home. I'm not feeling well," Phoebe requested after she stood up, ignoring her older sister. The younger witch nodded and took her hand. "I need to go home too. I have somethings to take care of too. Goodbye Piper, thanks for telling us about Mel's future, seeing how we won't experience it first-hand," Paige quipped before orbing out with Phoebe.

Piper stood up and turned to Leo. "I'm going to take a nap. I need to think things over. The boys are upstairs napping so can you watch out for them," Piper said before turning to walk up the stairs. "Piper wait," Leo began. He hadn't said a word since Piper began talking about the future.

Piper turned back to Leo, but looked down at the floor. Leo walked over and hugged Piper. He grabbed her head and forced her to look into his eyes. "I love you and I'm not losing you again, especially to some demon. We going to change the future for us, for our family, even if I have to kill the demon with my bare hands," Leo replied before kissing Piper's forehead. "I know Leo, I know" Piper replied.

**XXXXX**

"Well, why haven't you killed me yet? Aren't I the only one stopping you from being the source of all evil?" Letro snapped at Deztrix. "You're right, I can't kill you, you're my brother. Besides, I just saw a glimpse of the future that you create when you bed the witch, a future where evil rules and I don't want to change it," Deztrix admitted. "I knew it, you're weak and you will always be weak. Now I have a revenge to plan, you can leave now," Letro declared he turned away from his brother. "I might not be able to kill you, but I can strip you of your powers. Then I will be more powerful than you and you won't be able to kill my witch, but I'll still be able to kill yours," Deztrix whispered after he had unsoundly shimmered behind his brother. He placed his hand on his brother's shoulder and began to absorb all of his powers. Letro screamed out in pain. When all of his powers were gone, Deztrix let go of Letro's shoulder.

"You no longer have any powers brother. Good luck trying to get to your precious witch without them," Deztrix yelled before shimmering out.


	16. James

*Here's the next chapter. Thanks for all the reviews. Please enjoy :)

* * *

(One month later)

Piper, now seven months pregnant, sat down on the couch. She had just faced more of the Imperviousers. Now that she was quickly approaching her due date, the demon attacks had been more frequent. The demons were also attacking her sisters, so they all decided to move back into the Manor-just until their babies were born.

Mel sat down next to her. She was exhausted but knew that she needed to be around for the next couple of months to help with the demon attacks. Her mother wasn't moving as quickly as she used to, so fighting demons was almost out of the question. Whenever Piper objected, Mel would tell her mother that Mel didn't want anything to happen to her mother because then Mel might also get hurt in the process. Piper reluctantly agreed. Over the past month the two of them had been working on their relationship. Piper knew that her efforts wouldn't change Mel's past, but she hoped that they would change the future.

The two women had been sitting for less than five minutes before they heard a loud crash coming from the attic. Mel helped Piper stand up and then orbed them to the attic. They entered the room and could not see anything except a big cloud of smoke. "Paige is everything okay in here?" Piper called out. "Yeah I think so. How did you know it was me?" the youngest Charmed One called out. "Well, Phoebe is at work and Mel was sitting next to me on the couch so you were the only one left," Piper responded. Paige waited for the smoke to clear before replying. "Oh makes sense."

Mel walked over to the cauldron and looked at its contents. "What were you making?" she asked her aunt. "I was trying to make more of the Imperviousers' vanquishing potion," Paige answered. "Paige you should've let me do it. You could have killed yourself and my cousins!" Mel snapped at her aunt. "You're not the boss of me; don't tell me what to do!" Paige yelled back at her niece.

Before a fight broke out between the two women, Piper whistled, causing everyone to look at her. "We need to keep our voices down all this yelling is giving me a headache. Now, I'm not taking sides here, but Paige, Mel is right. She is here to help us out during our pregnancies so that none of our unborn children get hurt because of stress. Trust me, I know exactly what stress does to the baby." Piper warned. Paige sighed in defeat.

"Sorry Mel, I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. I just don't want to become dependent on anyone just because of my pregnancy. Plus I think I'm on edge because of what the future holds for our family and for me." "I'm sorry too Paige. I just don't want anything to happen to you, especially on my watch." The two women awkwardly stared at each other. After a minute, Piper broke the silence. "We need to stop the Imperviousers for good. Especially because Mel will be born soon and then they will go after her. Or at least the baby Mel." Mel and Paige nodded. Just then, all of the women heard the front door close.

**XXXXX**

Deztrix smiled. He was finally the Source of all Evil. He had never felt so powerful in his entire life. Now it was the time to enact his plan. He quickly shape-shifted before flaming out of his lair.

**XXXXX**

"Where is everyone?" Phoebe called out as soon as she shut the door. "In the attic," Piper responded. Phoebe made her way to the attic and saw her sisters and Mel sitting on the couch. They looked exhausted. Phoebe empathically sensed the tension in the room. "What's going on here?" "We're trying to come up with a plan to defeat the Imperviousers, but Mel has gone against every plan we've laid out. I think she knows something, but will not tell it to us," Piper explained to her younger sister. "Mel, please tell us what you know. We're only trying to protect you," Phoebe said looking at Mel. Phoebe's words broke Mel's heart; she never heard anyone say them to her before. She was so used to fighting the world by herself. Before she could stop it, she started to cry.

Piper walked up to her daughter, and pulled her daughter into her arms for comfort. Mel tried to get away, but was unable too because Piper pulled her closer. Mel started crying more. Her mother hadn't held her like this since she was a child. The last time she was held like this, was when she was four. It was before her parents had split up, before the war, before her demonic stepfather. Mel wished she could go back to those times.

Instead she settled for this younger version of her mother to hold her. "Shh sweetie. It's okay," her mother whispered into Mel's ear. Piper placed her hand on the back of Mel's head, stroking her hair softly. After a few minutes Mel stopped crying. She reluctantly got out of her mother's arms and looked at her. Even with all of the bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep, her mother was still beautiful. This version of her mother had eyes that were filled with love and compassion, unlike the eyes of her mother, which were normally filled with desire for power and disappointment. Before Mel started crying again, she stepped back from her mother and looked out the window.

A couple of minutes passed before any of the women spoke. Finally, Mel took a deep breath and turned back to her family. "I know how to defeat the Imperviousers."

**XXXXX**

"Well, what are you waiting for? Tell us." Paige encouraged Mel. "I can't. Not without changing my future. I'm sorry. I'll watch out for those demons. Don't worry I won't let them come near you." Mel explained. "Forget the future. You've already changed it!" Phoebe yelled at her niece. Before Mel could respond there was a loud bang that came from the kitchen. The three sisters and Mel looked at each other before leaving the attic as quickly as their pregnant bodies would take them. Mel got there first. There was a demon standing over what looked like a man. When Piper saw him, she blew the demon up. The women walked over to the man, unsure of who he was.

All of a sudden the man turned towards the women. The sisters had no clue who he was, but he was hurt-a fireball had hit him on the shoulder. He was moaning in pain. "Help!" Then he looked up at Mel. Mel instantly knew who he was. He was the one person she thought that she would never see again. The one person that she had left behind in the future. The one person she didn't say goodbye to before she left.

"James, is that you?!"


	17. Voiced Concerns

*Here's the next chapter. Sorry for all of the cliffhangers throughout this story, they are just so much fun to write. Thanks for all of the reviews. Enjoy :)

* * *

"James, is that you?" Mel repeated. The man nodded before struggling to stand up. Mel rushed over to his side and helped him to his feet before leading him away from the kitchen to the living room. The sisters followed them. Mel ushered James to the couch. "Paige, can you heal him. Please," Mel pleaded with her aunt. Paige walked over and held her hands over the wound. Nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working?" Mel cried. Paige kept trying. Slowly, the man's wound was healed. Paige stepped back as the man stood up. He walked over to Mel and gave her a hug. Mel was crying so he wiped away some of her tears. She looked up at him. "I thought that I lost you," she cried. He grabbed her head and lightly kissed her forehead. "I promised that I would always be there for you didn't I? Do you really think that some measly fireball was going to make me break my promise?" He replied. The two of them hugged again.

Piper cleared her throat. The pair stopped hugging, embarrassed that the sisters had witnessed the scene that just had unfolded. "Would someone like to explain to me who the hell James is? And why did it take so long for Paige to heal him?" Piper asked while folding her arms across her chest. Mel and James giggled softly and stepped away from each other. "I'm sorry, I forgot that you don't know him. This is James. He's sort of my husband," Mel answered her mother. "What do you mean 'sort of,'" Paige asked.

"Well, we have an arranged marriage. Set up by my stepfather of course. We were only married a couple of months before I left," Mel revealed. "Oh and it took so long for Paige to heal me because of my demonic powers," James chimed in. "You're a demon. My daughter is married to a demon!" Piper exclaimed. "No, James infused himself with demonic powers so he would be more powerful. He's a witch. Remember, the future we come from is very different. Witches infuse themselves with demonic powers all of the time. It's not that big of a deal," Mel explained.

Mel turned to James. "What are you doing here? How is everyone in the future?" "I'm here for you. I missed you terribly. Let's not talk about the future. Okay? Let's go somewhere private so that we can talk," James answered. Mel nodded. "Why was there a demon after you?" Paige asked James. "I accidently landed in the Underworld, after I read the spell to bring me back. Then a demon saw me and followed me here after I shimmered away. He followed my shimmer and attacked before I got the chance to." James murmured. "You can shimmer?" Piper asked. "Yeah it's one of my many demonic powers."

"Mel, do you get to share his powers; is your marriage like my future marriage?" Piper continued. "It will be if we ever consummate our union," James responded. Mel rolled her eyes at James. Piper confusedly looked at James and Mel. "See, we're, um, taking things slow. So that we can actually get to know each other before we jump into married life," Mel explained. "Oh, is that how powers get shared?" Piper asked thinking about her future marriage. "There is this whole ritual involved where the couple drinks each others blood, then the couple has to consummate the marriage before the couple can share each others powers," James answered coldly. Piper flinched at the James' coldness and also at what her future self would do.

"Mel, why would I arrange a marriage for you? Or rather, why wouldn't I stop this marriage from happening? Does your, err, stepfather, arrange a marriage for your brothers as well? At what age did he arrange these marriages?" Piper asked Mel. Mel shook her head.

"Please stop asking questions. You won't like the answers. Believe me," Mel begged. "Mel, if you remember correctly, when you first moved in you had one condition-that I don't ask questions if my sisters weren't present. Now my sisters are present and yet you still don't want me to ask any questions. You're confusing me," Piper replied. Mel glared at her before answering, "Fine ask all of the questions that you want! I just will not answer any more of them. James needs to rest and we need to figure out a way back to the future." "Mel, remember that these people won't understand our future. We should go away just the two of us. We need to talk and catch up." James piped in. Mel looked up at James and nodded.

She turned back to her family and looked at them. Piper had a worried expression, Paige looked confused and Phoebe was trying to get a read on James. "Look we'll talk later, but I need some alone time with James," Mel pleaded. The sisters nodded and Mel took James' hand and orbed away.

**XXXXX**

"Phoebe, did you get a read on James?" "No, they orbed away before I got the chance to. Why do you ask Paige?" "For some reason, I just feel that there is something off about him. He was very distant and vague. He didn't seem very excited to speak to us and was in a rush to get Mel alone," Paige explained. "He's definitely hiding something. Piper, are you okay?" Phoebe asked her older sister. Piper was sitting on the couch and was hyperventilating.

She collected herself and looked up at her sisters. "We need to fix this. I can't allow my daughter to go through that ritual, especially at such a young age. How did our future get so screwed up?" "Piper, don't worry we will fix this. For all of our children's sake." Phoebe responded while sitting next to her sister. Piper nodded. "A demon did this! I know it," Piper exclaimed. "What do you mean?" Paige asked while taking a seat across from her sisters. "Our future. Some demon must've changed it recently. I mean when Wyatt and Chris returned from the future a month before Mel, everything was fine," Piper explained. "So in that month some event happened to change the future again?" Phoebe asked. "But what? We didn't even do anything," Paige questioned.

"Something did happen in that month. Mel was conceived." Phoebe spoke up. "Are you saying that the fact that Leo and I conceived another child is the whole reason that you and Paige die?" Piper asked. "No, what I mean is that the Elders put their plan into motion that the next generation 'Charmed Ones' would be twice-blessed. They started to shift the world towards good because they gave Mel whitelighter powers while she was in the womb," Phoebe explained. "You think that the Elders would interfere with someone's life that early on? Baby Mel hasn't even displayed any signs of having any whitelighter powers. Maybe Mel gets her whitelighter powers after she is born?" Piper asked.

"No I think she already has her powers. The only way for our future to change would mean that the Elders have already interfered. I mean think about it Piper. You have never needed Paige to heal you after an attack, even though you were wounded." "Yeah, but adult Mel can't heal." "She never learned how to. It took me four years and I needed to find love in order to learn it," Paige chimed in. "Piper, Mel comes from a future where there is no love. Of course, she has never learned it!" Phoebe continued.

Piper sighed and got up from the couch. She walked over to the window to look out. All of the thoughts about her future flooded her head. She started to cry. She cried for her adult daughter. She cried for her dead sisters. She cried for her failed marriage. But mostly she cried because she felt that she had just wasted the past nine years of her life. If she wasn't a witch, or if there were no meddling Elders, then her daughter wouldn't have had to live such a horrible life and Piper's family wouldn't be torn apart. Her mother and her sister Prue would still be alive. Sure she would not know Paige or Leo for that matter, but without magic her world wouldn't be so screwed up.

"I need some time alone. I'll be upstairs if any one needs me," Piper responded wiping her tears away. "Piper, we are going to fix this," Phoebe called out. Piper nodded and began walking up the stairs to her bedroom.


	18. Ignorant Bliss

*Here's the next chapter. There are only six chapters left of this story after this chapter. Then I will start to post my prequel story explaining Mel's dark future. Sorry for not posting sooner, I was having writer's block. Thanks for the reviews they really mean a lot to me. Okay, enough of my rambling, enjoy :)

* * *

Mel orbed James and herself to the Golden Gate Bridge. James let go of her hand, moved away from Mel, and began to take in the view. The two stood in silence for a couple of minutes.

Mel cleared her throat and took a step towards James. James turned towards Mel. "Please James, tell me what the future is like. I mean how has it changed?" "Mel, the future has gotten worse. Your stepfather has been vanquished and now your mother is the sole ruler of the world. Your brother Chris is dead and your younger brother is missing. All of the Elders are dead and most of the whitelighters are on the run," James explained.

"How do you know all of this? And Chris is dead? No that can't be right. He was all that I had left. And did the Rebellion get Argraeus?" "I have become Piper's right hand man. I mean after the Rebellion was discovered and stopped of course." "Oh, my mom found out about them?" "Yeah there was no one left to lead them." "And Argraeus?" "Captured. It is rumored that he killed your stepfather, in the hopes of inheriting his throne. So Piper captured him so he couldn't kill her too." "I always knew that he would kill his father. That's too bad about the Rebellion. Well, at least we lasted about four years." Mel paused and started thinking about the Rebellion.

_A sixteen year old Mel was walking down the street when all of a sudden she heard screaming. She ran towards the screaming and saw a woman in the alleyway lying on the ground and a man leaning over her. After reading her mind, Mel realized that this woman was a mere mortal, a woman without any powers. The other was a demon. Mel recognized him as one of the demons in Letro's inner circle. The woman screamed again and Mel called out to the demon "Leave her alone." The demon looked up from the woman and recognized Mel. "Go away. Or you're next. Or worse, I'll tell your stepfather that you are trying to stop my mission." Mel grabbed her athame and throw it at the demon, instantly killing him. She then ran over to the woman and helped her up off the ground. "Thank you so much. What is your name?" the woman said to Mel "You're welcome. I'm Mel. How come you are still mortal? I thought that all mortals were killed off or given powers." _

"_There are a small group of us that have either stripped away their demonic powers or never received any. We are trying to get the world back to the way it was before the war." "How are you doing that?" "We are going after all the leaders of the world and their inner circle. " "Oh. How does one join this group? I mean hypothetically of course." "Why? I mean what does a woman who associates with demons, like you stand to gain by joining us?" _

_"I want to join your cause for personal reasons. But I have very valuable information for you. And I'm sure I could get my brother to help." "I don't know how the others would accept you." "My brother and I know how to vanquish/find the most powerful demons." "I'll ask the others. How will I contact you again?" "Just call out my name and I'll be there." The woman confusingly nodded at Mel and left. _

_Mel ran home and told Chris all about the woman. He was intrigued about the woman and wanted to learn more about her. A couple of weeks later the woman called for Mel. Mel and Chris orbed to the woman and met her small group of mortals. The mortals accepted them and they quickly helped the mortals kill some demons. Mel and Chris began to feel that they belonged somewhere-a feeling they never had at home._

"Mel, is everything okay?" Mel looked up at James, who snapped her back to the present. "Yeah I was thinking about the Rebellion. I mean it was the one group that made me feel like I belonged. And after I started co-running it with Chris, the group became my family. I mean I met you through this group. I hate that she found out about it. They're probably all dead. And its all my fault." Mel said before starting to cry. James walked up to Mel and held her. Mel took a couple of deep breathes to calm herself. Once she was calm she took a couple of steps away from James. "I know Mel, I know." "I need to get back. I need to fix this." "Mel, please calm down. You're not thinking properly. You need to protect your family. You can't go back yet." "If I can't go back, then why did you come?" "To be with you. Like I said at the Manor, I missed you."

Mel looked up at James. She felt the sincerity of his words, but for some reason she felt that he was hiding something from her. She thought that he had some ulterior motive for coming back. She tried to read his mind, but it was blocked. She sighed and he hugged her again. Being in his arms made her forget all of her doubts and worries. She inhaled his scent and for a brief moment, she felt like him and her were the only people left in the world. She pulled his head down for a kiss. He kissed her back. Mel pulled away and looked up at James. He was her husband, and she felt ready to finally be with him, in all sense of the word. She took a deep breath and kissed him again, this time with more passion.

Mel pulled away from the kiss and looked into his eyes. "Are you sure you're ready?" He asked, knowing that it was her first time. She nodded and they started to kiss again. They then made love on top of the bridge.

**XXXXX**

After making love to Mel, and making sure that she was asleep, James pulled Mel's arm off of him and stood up. He flamed away quietly.


	19. Best Kept Secrets Pt 1

*I have decided to make my story two chapters longer than I anticipated. The next three chapters were originally going to be one very long chapter, but I thought that splitting them up into three chapters, would be less confusing. The first part of "Best Kept Secrets" takes place simultaneously with the previous chapter. It explains what the Charmed Ones were doing while Mel was on the bridge with James. The second part occurs after James flamed away. Thanks for the reviews. Sorry for the long update. Enjoy :)

* * *

Leo, Wyatt, and Chris came home to a very quiet Manor. Leo was afraid that something had happened to the girls. He grabbed the boys and went upstairs to put them to bed. All the bedrooms upstairs were empty; Phoebe and Paige weren't in their rooms and Piper wasn't in theirs either. It was times like this that he still wished he was a whitelighter, so he could sense everyone's location. He headed back downstairs and could hear soft whispering coming from the conservatory. Slowly he walked over to the conservatory. Phoebe and Paige were sitting on the couch. They didn't hear Leo come in and he was able to hear their hushed conversation.

"Paige, I have this really bad feeling. What are we going to do?" "Phoebe, do you think I know what to do?" "I'm sorry, but these past couple of months have been way to stressful for me to handle. I can only imagine how Piper feels. I just don't understand why things like this keep happening to us!" "Yeah tell me about it. Every Halliwell for generations has gone through it." Leo cleared his throat, making his presence known. They looked up at him and Leo could see that they had been crying. "I'm sorry to interrupt. I was wondering if you knew where Piper is? And what's wrong? Why are you guys crying? Did something bad happen?" "Leo, you may want to sit down," Phoebe replied motioning for him to sit. "Why what's wrong?"

Phoebe took a deep breath and with an encouraging nod from Paige, she looked at Leo. "Leo, your daughter's husband came from the future and I just get this bad feeling from him." "Wait, my daughter is married! I won't have that! She is too young to even be dating, let alone to be married!" "Leo calm down. Mel is an adult, not some young teenager. Besides, weren't you married at her age?" "That's a whole different situation. She is my daughter! She shouldn't be married." Paige silently replied, " I think it's cute that Leo has gone into protection mode," trying to break some of the tension in the room. Leo just glared at her.

**XXXXX**

Piper was in the attic. She closed the book and sighed. There wasn't anything to help her. "Why do I even bother?!" She said to no one in particular. She long ago stopped crying. She had never cried so much in her life as she had in these past few months. She hated the future that her daughter came from, but she had no way of changing it. She had never felt so powerless than in that moment. She looked up towards the heavens and started yelling.

"This is all your fault! If you hadn't meddled in my children's lives, then none of this wouldn't have happened. My children would be safe and they wouldn't have to endure such horrible things at such a young age. You need to fix this now! Why would you do this to a young girl? What do you gain from my family's misery? Haven't we sacrificed enough for you people to let us live our own lives? Would someone please answer me!" She paused ready for some sort of answer, but all she heard was silence. She stopped yelling at the sky and opened up the book once again.

**XXXXX**

"Leo look at me." Leo turned his attention back to his other sister-in-law. Phoebe paused before continuing. "Leo, it's not what you think. Apparently, it's an arranged marriage and they have only been married a couple of months. Oh and they haven't slept together yet." "Wait, what? That's a relief. I can still picture her as my sweet innocent girl. I'll be able to sleep at night." "At least one of us can." Phoebe replied. Paige and Leo nodded thinking about all the sleepless nights that they had experienced over the past couple of months. A couple of minutes passed before anyone said anything.

Paige looked up at Leo remembering his first question about Piper's whereabouts. She looked at Leo breaking the silence. "Leo, you came down here looking for Piper?" "Yeah when I came back with the boys, I bathed them then put them to bed and looked for Piper in our room, but she wasn't there. So I came down, thinking that she was down here. And then I heard noise coming from the conservatory and thought she was in here." "That's weird. She left to go upstairs a couple of hours ago. She said that she was going upstairs." Leo heart momentarily stopped. He automatically feared for the worse: that a demon kidnapped her. He rushed up the stairs and started calling for her.

**XXXXX**

Piper heard Leo calling for her, but didn't want to talk to him. She was lighting some candles when he called and continued to do so. She was determined to summon _her_. They owed her that much. She wanted, no she needed, to see _her_, to hear _her_ voice. Piper knew that _she_ was the only one that could calm her down and reassure her that everything would be okay.

Once all the candles were lit, Piper started chanting the spell. "Hear these words, hear my cry, spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee, cross now the great divide." White lights swirled and a figure appeared. Piper got excited and raced over to the circle. However, she became disappointed when she realized that she only summoned her grandmother. "Grams, what are you doing here? I need to speak to Prue. And don't you start saying that we can't summon her because it's too soon. It has been six years already. I need to speak to her. Let me see her!" Penny Halliwell sighed and took a step towards Piper, becoming corporeal. She quickly hugged her granddaughter. "Piper, there is a reason that you haven't been able to summon Prue." "Well, why not?" "Because..." but before Penny could finish someone orbed in.

**XXXXX**

Leo began climbing the stairs to the attic. Phoebe and Paige followed closely behind him. As he got closer. He heard voices. They were muffled, but there were definitely more than two coming from the attic. Then he heard the sound of Piper blowing something up. He looked back at Phoebe and Paige and paused afraid of what was happening behind this closed door. Phoebe looked worried and Paige nodded, encouraging to open the door. Leo turned back to the door, grabbed the doorknob, took a deep breath, and braced himself for what was going to come.

**XXXXX**

"Geez, is that how you greet all of your guests?" laughed the whitelighter, who had just reformed after being blown up by Piper. "Well, as of lately, yes. I'm not a big fan of the Elders or anyone that works directly under them, especially whitelighters," Piper replied still with her hands ready for another attack. The whitelighter just looked and Piper and laughed again. "Well, good thing I'm already dead."

Just then the attic door burst open and Leo, Phoebe, and Paige entered. "Where's the demon?" Leo quickly asked. The three newcomers could only see Piper, but heard a second voice. Penny had long ago returned back up there. "Oh, there's no demon here. Piper just has a short temper, which I'm sure we're all used too. Added to raging hormones, Piper is just a walking time bomb," the voice snickered. Piper just glared at the whitelighter before blowing her up again. Once she reformed, she turned to Piper and started yelling, "Piper, what was that for? You know even though it can't kill me, it still hurts."

Phoebe looked up at the owner of the voice, but couldn't determine who it was because the whitelighter had her back turned to them. It sounded like it was _her _voice. She last heard it over six years ago. She believed that she would never hear it again. The whitelighter turned to Leo, Paige, and Phoebe and smiled. Phoebe's eyes widened in shock before screaming out, "OH MY GOD, PRUE IS THAT YOU?"

Prue nodded and walked over to Phoebe, hugging her. Prue looked back at her younger sister and smiled. She placed her hand on her sister's five and a half month baby bump. "Yes its me Phoebe." "Why? How? You're not a ghost! What is going on here?" Prue smiled at her younger sister.

Paige looked at the woman. She was very beautiful, more beautiful than any pictures that she saw of her. Prue stopped hugging Phoebe and fully turned towards Paige. "Hi Paige, I'm your eldest sister Prue." Prue said, while holding out her hand towards her baby sister. "Oh hi, it is nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you." Paige replied and shifted uncomfortably. Phoebe and Leo had moved away from the pair, towards Piper.

Paige reluctantly shook the whitelighter's hand. Prue then pulled Paige into a hug. Instead of pulling away, Paige hugged back. The two hugged for a few minutes before letting go.

"Not to be rude or anything, but why are you here?" Paige asked her eldest sister. Prue smiled and turned so that she was looking at all of her sisters. "Well, I'll tell you if Piper promises to not blow me up again." Piper scoffed quietly before lowering her hands. Prue nodded and continued. "As I was telling Piper before being blown up, I am a whitelighter. But I not a typical whitelighter. In fact I have only been assigned six charges. All of your children." "How? I thought that witches weren't made whitelighters when they died." Phoebe asked her sister.

Prue nodded and continued. "Normally, they're not. But like I said earlier, I'm a special whitelighter. I made a deal with the Elders, that allowed for me to be made a whitelighter, but only for my nieces and nephews. The catch is that I am only going to be their whitelighter until the youngest turns 20. Then I go back to being dead. Which is why I am here."

"Wait, what? You're about to die? But none of our children are nearing 20 anytime soon." Piper asked her sister. "I'm not the Prue of your time. I'm the Prue from Mel's time. Mel is approaching 20 soon and regrettably, she is the youngest of all my charges." "Wait, what about our children?" Phoebe asked. "Due to the war, your children unfortunately were killed at a young age." Future Prue's comment quieted all three of the sisters. Prue paused for a few minutes, letting all the information that she had given the past versions of her sisters sink in.

"I came back from the future to warn you of a vision that the Elders of my time had. It's about Mel. They fear that she is heading down a dark path, similar to the one that Phoebe went down with Cole." "Prue, what are you talking about?" Piper asked looking at the future version of her sister. Prue sighed. "Piper, the Elders foresee that your daughter will bear the Source's son, the most powerful magical being ever born on this planet. So powerful that he will end all life on earth."

**XXXXX**

"Wait, are you saying that my err, future grandson is going to cause the end of the world?" Leo asked finally speaking up after witnessing all the emotional reunions between his sisters-in-law. Prue nodded silently, unable to speak. Paige looked horrified, Phoebe was on the brink of tears and Piper looked like she was about to pass out. Leo quickly shifted behind her, ready to catch her if she actually did faint. Everyone stood there in the attic in complete silence.

**XXXXX**

After regaining her composure, and taking a step away from Leo, Piper looked at the future version of her sister before looking at the rest of her family. When she got to Leo, her gaze lingered a few seconds before she finally decided to look out the window. She hadn't even noticed that the sun had set. Mel had been gone at least a couple of hours and Piper wasn't sure that she would see the adult version of her daughter any time soon.

**XXXXX**

Prue, sensing the past version of her sister's pain and hurt, moved towards Piper and Prue placed her hand on Piper's arm, to comfort her. Prue wanted to scream out that she could sense Mel and that she was okay, but Prue knew that Piper didn't want to hear that. Prue also wanted to grab her younger sister in her arms and never let Piper go, in the hopes that their hug would solve all of their problems. Prue knew in her heart that both herself and this younger version of her sister needed a long comforting hug, but it was not the time or the place for such a hug. This Piper was emotionally unstable and such a hug would probably do more harm then good. Plus it wouldn't do Prue any good to hug her sister; because when she left the past she would have to return to a future where her Piper wasn't this warm, loving, compassionate woman. In the end Prue settled for comforting her sister with a simple arm rub.

**XXXXX**

Piper somehow sensed future Prue's hesitation towards her. Like somehow if Prue felt that is she came too close, then Piper would shatter to pieces. Piper was upset at her sister's distance. She glanced up at the future version of her sister, finally taking in all of her. Prue physically, was the same woman who had died all those years ago; she hadn't aged or developed any wrinkles like she would have if she lived. But when Piper looked into her eyes, she saw something in them that her Prue never had. This version's blue eyes contained hopelessness and defeat. This Prue's eyes believed that she had failed them all. That the future she came from was somehow all her fault because she hadn't been there to protect her family.

Piper had no idea what struggles this Prue endured, nor what emotions she felt by standing in a room where all of her family members were happy or at least alive. Piper realized that being in the past for her sister was probably very difficult and confusing, especially if she had to go back to a future where all of her family members were dead, or evil.

Piper looked up at the future version of her sister and nodded, trying to convey that somehow after looking into her sister's eyes that she understood. Piper quickly grabbed her sister's hand, the one that had been comforting her, and before Prue could pull away, Piper pulled Prue into a much needed hug, one that neither had had for a long time.


	20. Best Kept Secrets Pt 2

*The next chapter is finally here. I'm sorry this took almost a month to post, but I have been focused on my other story "The Whitelighter and the Mortal" at the moment, that I haven't been able to write this chapter. There were a lot of things I had to figure out about this chapter so I had to deal with that. I also debated making Letro Dan in disguise, but then I realized how clichéd that was, so I decided against it. So just as a reminder this chapter takes place after James flames away on the bridge. And also after the last chapter's final scene with Prue. Thanks for the reviews and your continued support. I still don't own Charmed, but I do own the demons mentioned in this chapter. Enjoy :)

* * *

Letro was sitting in the cave that Deztrix left him in. He really hated that he no longer had powers and was forced to walk everywhere. And now half of the demon population wanted him dead because they figured that by killing him, they would some how weaken Deztrix, and take over the Underworld. Even though Letro's death wouldn't do anything to Deztrix-except anger him-Letro resorted to staying in this cave, which was protected. He scoffed at his new home. His brother couldn't kill him for whatever reason, and took all of his powers, but yet Deztrix still protected him from the other demons. Letro actually wished that Deztrix would just kill him, because it would be more dignified than a life without powers.

Letro was so consumed by the thoughts of killing his brother, that he didn't notice when he flamed in. Deztrix smiled at his weak brother sitting helplessly in the corner. He cleared his throat which caused Letro to look up. "Hello brother. How is your life?" "Deztrix or do you prefer James now? Why don't you spare me and just end my miserable existence?" "Letro. I can't do that. I need you to witness what we could've conquered together if we had worked together. Besides I'm helping you out with your witch. For whatever reason, your witch wants a normal life, and a powerless you would help her to love and accept you easier, once you kill her husband of course."

Letro let out any angry scream. He tried conjuring a fireball, but was once again reminded how powerless he was. Deztrix laughed at his brother's expense. "Join me brother. We could kill the witches and rule the world together." "Only if you kill your witch first." "Oh, I will kill her alright, but not yet. See, if what I see in the future is to come true, then I need her alive for my plan to succeed. At least for the next nine months, of course." "What are you talking about?" "Before I came down here, I bedded the witch. And now she is most likely carrying the heir to my throne. This child will be the most powerful being ever in existence."

"That child would be unstoppable. He would have the entire Halliwell magic behind him, along with our father's magic. He can't be born. He would destroy all life on earth!" "Oh Letro, why do you always want to stop me from being happy? All I want is a family who actually wants to work together. And now I have that and you're trying to take it away from me! That's it Letro! You will no longer stand in my way of my happiness!" "Then just kill me, because as long as I am alive, I will do everything in my power to stop you."

"That's just it Letro. You don't have any power. You can't be that much of a threat to me any more!" Deztrix yelled back before flaming out. Letro was angry and needed to hurt someone. He settled for punching a wall. His brother was being foolish and his foolishness would be the death of all demons and humans alike.

**XXXXX**

Many hours had passed after Deztrix left Letro. Letro didn't care where he went. Letro was mad at him and if he ever saw Deztrix again, Letro would find a way to kill him. He thought back to all of the spells his father had taught him and recalled a spell that would help him. The spell would temporarily bind Deztrix's powers long enough for Letro to kill him with an athame, one he had taken from Deztrix when he came to visit him. Letro sharpened the athame with a rock and waited for his brother to return.

**XXXXX**

Once her sisters had fallen asleep, Prue stayed up in the attic. Even though she had so many emotions running through her head, she knew why she had been sent back to the past. Somehow she was able to remember every alternative future, in vivid detail, that at least one member of her family had encountered. For example, she remembered the one that Chris came back from, or the one that she had witnessed where Phoebe was burned at the stake. But more importantly she remembered the one that her family was supposed to have. She also knew what had caused it all to go so wrong. There was just three simple things that changed the future, and three simple solutions to those problems.

Once she had finished adding to the Book of Shadows, which was why she was in the attic in the first place, she grabbed the potions that she had brewed and orbed away, not even sure if she would ever see this place, or her sisters again.

**XXXXX**

Letro realized that not only could any being not get in, but he also couldn't get out. It looked like only Deztrix could come and visit him. So he really got ready for the next time his brother came.

**XXXXX**

Prue orbed into the Underworld. She landed right before the cave that she had visited way to often for her liking. In fact, this was the very cave that her sister had imprisoned her in a few months before she left. Even though she knew that at least one of her "in-laws" was in there, Prue couldn't bring herself to entering the cave. Not only because it was magically protected (which was why she had one of the potions), but being there brought up so many horrible memories. In all honesty, she was half expecting her sister, no the Source of all Evil, Prue reminded herself, to come out and finally kill Prue after the many months of threatening to do so. She shook her head at herself. She was in the past. Her sister was still good and she was back at the Manor, sleeping besides Leo, pregnant with her only daughter. If Prue succeeded in her mission, then her sister would never turn evil, and the future would be saved.

Finally after ten minutes, Prue was able to convince herself that going into the cave was her best option. She drank one of the potions and walked through the door.

**XXXXX**

Letro turned around when he heard someone enter the cave. He was about to say the spell but he realized that it wasn't his brother. In fact he saw a woman, one that he recognized almost instantly. She was the one that vanquished his father all those years ago. But the problem was that a year later, she had died. So he didn't know why she was standing before him or how she managed to get into the cave. Curiously he approached her, athame in hand ready to fight her.

**XXXXX**

Prue looked around the cave and noticed that there was only one demon in here. Even though he wasn't the main catalyst in the future changing, he was the one that directly changed the lives of both her sister and her nephews and niece. He was the one that caused Prue a lot of grief. He also needed to be the first one killed to change the future she had come from.

**XXXXX **

"I was wondering if I was ever going to see you again. I mean you were killed by Shax after all, even though I wish I could have had the honor. Which brings me to my next question. How are you here? And why aren't you a spirit? And how did you get into this cave, only Deztrix can do that? " Letro asked taking a step forward. Prue held her ground and sat and watched the man she hated most in the world. "Well, I drank this potion, that had Deztrix's blood, which tricked the cave that I was Deztrix. You see, even though that potion was very gross tasting and only temporary, as in I will have to drink another one to get out, I had to enter this cave. Because, I had to make sure you and your brother died. That way I can forever brag how I single-handedly defeated the supposed "most powerful" demonic family throughout all of history." "Well, sorry to disappoint you. But I think that you are the one getting killed today, not me." Letro charged her with his athame and Prue simply orbed out of the way.

"What, the Elders made you a whitelighter? Are you telling me that now the witches I killed, will just come back as whitelighters and get their revenge on me? How is that fair?" "I'm a special case. I'm from the future. I was sent here to make sure three things happen in a particular order: Number 1, your death. Number 2, the death of your brother and Number 3, the future version of my niece that is here has to die." "Oh, that must be the witch that my brother bedded last night. He only bedded her because he wanted to beat me. He wanted to make sure he bedded his witch before I bedded mine. And since you're from the future, I bet you know which witch I'm talking about."

"Of course I do. I am here to stop that from ever happening." "So the real reason that you're here is to preform the third one. Because there is no way that your sisters could ever kill one of their own children." "I'm not here only because of that. I am the only one who knows how to kill both you and your brother. I'm here to make sure that Deztrix doesn't succeed. I'm here to make sure my sisters have long healthy lives and the happy endings they deserve after all of their years of misfortune and sorrow. If that means I have to kill the future version of my niece to do so, then I will." "If we weren't fighting for opposite sides, I think I could actually like you, maybe. I mean all you want is what is best for your family. I respect that. I used to think that way before my brother betrayed me and stole my powers. Now I could care less about him and his stupid witch. I hope they both rot in hell."

"I could never like you. I've seen the future you. And future, you well, he has caused a lot of unnecessary pain in my life and in my family's life." "Wait, how can you punish me for things I have yet to do." "Like this." Prue yelled before throwing the potion at Letro. It was the most powerful potion Piper would ever create, so powerful that it could vanquish all upper level demons without the power of three. Piper made it a couple of months after their sisters had died, and it was the only good thing to ever come out of that horrid future. Once Letro was vanquished, Prue drank the other potion she had brought and orbed back to the Manor.


	21. Zero Minutes Left

*So here is the next chapter. It's a little longer than usual. It's full of angst, mention of character death, and also an actual character death. Just so you don't all hate me and it's been awhile since this story has had any, I'm throwing in some Piper/Leo fluff. And also some Phoebe/Paige fluff. Which reminds me, the first three scenes all take place at the same time. If anything is too confusing, please let me know. Okay, I'm shutting up now. Thanks for the reviews. I don't own anything. Please enjoy and review to let me know how you felt about this chapter, or the story in general.

* * *

Mel woke up and instantly noticed that James was gone. She tried sensing him, but couldn't. This caused her to panic and decide to go to the Manor to look in the book. She quickly orbed outside of the manor and paused before going in. She didn't want to risk orbing into a room and meeting any of her family members and their annoying questions.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes so that she could sense where her family was at. She sensed that Phoebe and Paige were out of the manor. They were at the mall with their husbands, probably trying to figure out a way to change their future. Her mother and father were in her brothers' room probably having some mushy, fluffy moment in which they reaffirmed each other that they were good parents and that none of Mel's future would come to pass, even though that was out of their control.

No one was in the attic, so she silently orbed up there to see if she could find James. Once there she grabbed a crystal and a map and started to scry for James. She was so preoccupied that she hadn't heard someone orb in.

"I was wondering how long you were going to be away." Mel stopped scrying and looked up at the woman who spoke. Mel glared before starting to scry again. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be enjoying your last few months alive?" "I can't enjoy them. Not with you in the past." "Go away. I can handle this." "Mel, look at me. You're still my charge, I needed to protect you." "No, I'm old enough to protect myself!" "Please stop scrying and talk to me."

The younger woman paused and stood up straight before looking at the older woman. Mel took a deep breath before responding. "Aunt Prue, James is missing. And unless I find him, he'll probably die. And don't start with the whole 'James is evil' crap, because frankly, I love him and I don't care what any one thinks about him. I'm old enough to make my own decisions about whom I love."

Prue smiled at her niece's newfound maturity and sighed to get back on task. "I won't lecture you about him today, but our other family members, mainly your father might." "That's why I'm not going to talk to them, at least not until I find James. Besides, they're not my family." Prue looked hurt that her niece disregarded all the people that Prue once held dear to her heart. Mel sensed her aunt's hurt, but continued anyways. "Look, I get it. You can remember all of the good, happy times that you had growing up with these people. But I never had that.

"You could now. Give them a chance." "Why? So I could return to a future where they don't exist? Or have you forgotten that Phoebe and Paige died when I was barely six months old. And my grief-stricken uncles took my cousins away from my mother, which probably caused her to completely fall apart. And don't get me started on my father, who was driven away by a demon. I mean sure seeing your wife with another man must have been heart-wrenching, but he should have fought harder for my brothers and me. So that we wouldn't have been raised the way that we were.

"Then there's my older brother, my parent's 'golden boy' he left because he couldn't handle our mother. He should have stayed to protect us. And Chris, well Chris is the only person who ever cared for me! But he's dead now too. And you, you'll die soon so I don't even have you. That just leaves my mother, who is the source of all evil, and my younger brother, who I've never liked because he was just plain evil and well we never got along really. So please Aunt Prue tell me again why I should give these people a chance?"

"Mel, how can you say that? These people love you." "Yeah that's why they left me all alone in this world. And don't you dare say that they didn't have a choice, because something could have been done to stop all of this from happening. Besides, I don't have time to dwell on my past, I'm more concerned about my present, about James." Before Prue got the chance to respond Mel orbed away.

**XXXXX**

Piper was standing at the doorway to her sons' room. Ever since her sisters had moved back into the Manor, her boys had to share a room for everyone to fit. Her sons were playing together with some of their toys. She smiled and felt the tears come to her eyes as she watched them. All of a sudden she felt arms snake around her waist. She turned to see her husband standing behind her. She turned back to the boys and leaned against Leo. The two stood there for a few moments, not wanting to dwell on how screwed up their lives were going to be.

"They're just so innocent. I mean they're playing like nothing's wrong. That nothing bad is going to happen. Without a care in the world." Piper said looking up at Leo. "We're going to change everything Piper. I promise you that." "Yeah, but how?" "Maybe you should talk to Prue. Convince her to tell you how to change the future. It's the only hope that we have. That they have." "You're right. What would I do without you?" "I have no idea. And I never want to find out." "Me neither."

Leo smiled at his wife and grabbed her face with both of his hands before pulling her into a passionate kiss. Piper kissed him back. After a minute, Piper reluctantly pulled away. "I have to go talk to Prue." He nodded and let her leave. He watched her make her way to the attic stairs before turning back to his sons.

**XXXXX**

"I'm glad we got the chance to hang out Paige, like we used to." Phoebe whispered to her younger sister. Paige nodded and smiled up at Phoebe. Both of their husbands stood a little behind them, ready for the demon that was surely going to attack at any minute. Ever since Phoebe and Paige filled them in about their futures, neither man wanted to leave his wife's side. Phoebe thought it was cute, while Paige found it kind of annoying. That was why they volunteered to go shopping with their wives today, after both of them said they wanted a sister day out. Of course they had invited Piper and Prue too, but they found that Piper wasn't wanting to leave the comfort of the Manor and Prue said she had to take care of some things. But both Piper and Prue, convinced them to go.

After hitting all of their favorite shops, the foursome stopped at the food court to eat some food. After sitting down, Phoebe looked to Paige and asked her what was on everyone's mind. "How do we change the future. Or better yet, how do we stop our own deaths?" "I don't know Phoebe. I have spent many nights thinking of a way to change everything, but I haven't come up with anything. Maybe we can ask Prue." "That's what I was thinking. Surely, she knows how to fix everything, but will she be willing?" Phoebe asked. Paige just shrugged. Their husbands shook their heads. The four sat in silence contemplating what they were going to do next.

**XXXXX**

"You really know how to piss a guy off don't you." Deztrix said while stepping out from the shadows, the second that Mel orbed out. He had shimmered, because it was quieter, into the attic during Prue and Mel's talk, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. A few hours before, he had found his brother's dead body before it vanished away into oblivion. He also knew that there was only one witch who could have killed him. And he waited for the perfect opportunity to kill her. "You're not a guy." Prue replied after seeing Deztrix.

"See this is what I mean! No wonder you ended up alone, you could never keep a guy happy enough for him to stay with you." Even though his words stung, she wouldn't let him know and kept her face emotionless. "Well, you've killed enough people's happiness. This one's for both my brother and my father, you murdering witch." And with that, Deztrix shot Prue with a darklighter's arrow. Prue didn't even see him pulling it out, or him firing it and by the time she realized what was happening, it was too late. She had been shot with the poisonous arrow. Deztrix smiled and flamed out.

**XXXXX**

"Paige. Paige. PAIGE!" Piper yelled as soon as she found her sister lying on the couch. She was already making her way up the stairs to the attic when she heard Prue fighting with someone. She quickly burst her way threw the attic door, half expecting to see her daughter and her sister fighting. Instead she saw something much worse. Her sister and James were fighting and Prue didn't notice the crossbow in James' hands. And before Piper had a chance to freeze or blow up James, Prue got shot and James flamed away. Now she was calling for her baby sister, so that she could come and heal her older sister.

"Piper, save your breath. I can't be healed." Prue said as soon as Phoebe and Paige, along with their husbands materialized in the attic. Leo also appeared in the attic after he had heard Piper screaming for Paige. Paige quickly assessed the situation and ran over to heal her sister. Prue stopped her which caused very confused looks from her sisters. "I made a deal that I would become a whitelighter, however there was a catch, if I ever got shot with a darklighter's arrow, then I would die. No other whitelighter could heal me." Prue explained.

Piper shook her head angrily at her sister. "You should have told us. Especially before you went demon hunting. I knew we shouldn't have trusted him or even let him out of our sites." "Wait who?" Phoebe asked. "James. James shot Prue." Everyone fell into a silence.

"Piper, there are lots of things I haven't told you." Prue chimed in breaking the silence. "Yeah, like about the future. Well, Mel already told us everything." Piper replied still angry. Paige and Phoebe nodded silently in agreement.

"Oh you know everything huh? Phoebe and Paige, you know how your daughters die? How Phoebe's daughter was one of the first casualties of the war? See, the demons went after the cupids first, so that there wouldn't be any more love in the world. And Phoebe, your daughter was barely eight years old and was literally the first cupid killed, probably because she had no means to defend herself, with all of her witch powers bound and all. And then Coop, who saw his daughter's death, became so hopeless that he was able to be easily captured and brought to Queen Piper over there. Piper forced Coop to whip her children whenever they disobeyed her. And I'm saying that these whippings caused cuts that were deep, I had a hard time healing them. But Coop did it, because he was an empty shell and doing this kept him alive and close to his family.

"And Paige, you know what happened to your daughters and Henry? At least they survived a little longer than Phoebe's daughter. That's only because I unbound their powers. Henry died when the girls were ten. And I stepped in and tried to raise those girls, because well, there was no one else. And once the younger of the two died, the older one went on a suicide mission. In other words, she went up against 16 demons by herself. She was able to kill some of them, but the others, they over powered her. They weren't allowed to kill her, Piper's orders of course, but they did things to her that, things I'm not even comfortable repeating. Once they were done with her, they brought her before Queen Piper here and well Queen Piper punished her for her sister's death. Piper threw her in a cell under the Manor and kept her as a "play thing" for the demons. Her screams still echo in my mind from time to time. See I was trapped in the cell next to hers. I was so grateful for the demon who finally killed her after the months of torture she had to endure. Oh by the way, that demon was my youngest nephew, and he was so evil that the Elders didn't even assign me as his whitelighter, because well he wasn't a witch, even though his mother was. He was also ten when he killed her.

"Oh that's and not even the worst I could have thrown at you. So don't tell me you know everything because by the looks on your faces, you didn't know any of that. But how could you? Your only source was Mel and I changed some of her memories so she didn't have to remember any of that. You're actually lucky Piper. In her memories, I made you seem less evil then you are. If she knew the truth about everything, she would have killed you the moment that she met you."

Prue paused and watched as all of her family members stared at her, tears streaming down their faces. Prue regretted telling them all that she had, but they had to know. They had to know why Prue was sent back. They had to be okay killing Mel. To change the whole future. So that no one ever had to live through that horrific time. She took a deep breath before addressing her family again. "Look, that's not going to happen okay? As long as these three specific things happen." She looked at her silent sisters again before continuing.

"Okay, here are the things that need to happen in order too change everything. Piper's future husband has to die, which I already took care of. Then James has to die. And finally Mel has to die. All three of these events will offset the three events that changed the future." Prue finished.

Piper sighed when she realized her older sister's main mission here. It was written on her face when she was telling them about the future. It was also the reason that she told them those things. She was sent back to kill Mel, because the Elders knew that she would be the only one to do so. Because Prue would be the only one not willing to send Mel back to that horrible time if they didn't change the future. Because Prue knew that death was preferable to living through that hell. And Prue would know because well she had experienced both. Piper grasped onto Leo to prevent herself from falling to the ground. She had become numb to everything around her. She had failed in her role as protector and she hated herself for all she did and all she would do to her children.

"What changed the future Prue? And how do you know?" Phoebe asked timidly. No one in the room really wanted to know, but everyone knew it was imperative if they wanted to change the future. Prue paused. Even though she was dying, she needed to find the strength to tell her family the truth. She took a painful deep breath. With tears in her eyes, she told them what she knew.

"The day after the so called "Final Battle," three events happened that together that changed the future. Now these three things, if they had happened at their own times, well it wouldn't have been that big of a deal." Prue started. She paused and looked at her sisters waiting to see if they understood what she was telling them. They nodded at her and Prue continued.

"Now the Elders, traced what these three events could be and how to offset them. The first event that happened was that Adult Chris, and Adult Wyatt vanquished a low-level demon that day. Normally, that wouldn't be that awful, but it turns out that that specific demon worked for Letro, or Piper's future husband, and his brother Deztrix, or as you know him, James. And in the future that Wyatt and Chris came from, this demon rebelled against the two demonic brothers and killed them.

"The second event that happened was that somehow a future version of Deztrix (who by the way was the demon that Piper's children had to kill-it was their first Power of Three vanquish-the very vanquish that started the war) came back and warned himself of his future and gave his past self a way to change the future." Prue paused and made sure that her sisters understood what she had just said. Once they nodded again Prue kept going.

"The final thing that happened was Mel's conception." Prue said and she saw Piper flinch and Leo unconsciously, hold her a little closer to him. Prue had sensed that Piper had something to say, but couldn't find the words. Phoebe and Paige, both sensed their elder sister's longing. So Paige decided to step in and ask the question that was everyone's minds. "How do you know that those three things you mentioned earlier, will put our futures on the right path?" "The Elders don't really, they're just guessing. But it's the best guess that anyone has right?" The eldest Charmed One asked her younger sisters. They nodded.

"Now, I need you all to leave now. Because I don't want you to see my death. At least not for the second time." Prue added a moment later. Phoebe and Paige started to object. Piper took a deep breath and stepped towards her older sister and grabbed her hand. "No Prue, I am not going anywhere. We lost you once, and even though we are losing you all over again, I'm not leaving your side." Piper said after finding her voice. Prue nodded remembering that her sister was stubborn and once she set her mind on something, nothing short of a miracle would change it.

Phoebe and Paige nodded and sat next to Piper on the floor. Everyone's husbands quietly left the room so that the sisters could spend a few moments together. They reminisced about all of their years spent together, and in Paige's case, apart. After an hour, Prue faded away.


	22. Killing a Halliwell

*Here is the next chapter (finally!). Sorry this has taken forever. Thanks for the reviews and continued support. I don't own anything. Please Enjoy :)

* * *

Mel somehow landed in the Underworld. In all honesty, she was aiming for the bridge, so that she could see if James left anything behind. However, now that she was in the Underworld, she took it as a sign that she should look for James down here. She closed her eyes and tried to sense for him, but got nothing.

**XXXXX **

Back at the Manor, the sisters and their husbands where sitting in the conservatory. It had been a couple of hours since Prue faded away. No one could speak. They had no idea what to do now that Prue was dead again. They also had no idea how to stop Deztrix and none of them were willing to kill Mel. So instead they all sat around in silence.

**XXXXX**

Melinda wandered around aimlessly. She knew that she was going in circles, but she didn't dare stop and ask any one of help. Even though, she felt that she could probably take down anyone who crossed her path, she wasn't really in the mood to fight. She just wanted to find James and go back to the future. She no longer cared about helping her family, at least not until her Aunt Prue apologized for everything that she had said to her about James being evil.

"UGH! What am I doing here? James, where are you?" Mel yelled out and slumped to the ground. She knew that calling out for him would be frivolous, but Mel was past caring. She was hungry and tired and just wanted to go home. She closed her eyes and tears started to fall. She didn't notice the demon that had appeared behind her. The demon quickly grabbed her, and before she could orb away, the demon shimmered to a different part of the Underworld.

**XXXXX**

(Two weeks later)

It had been two weeks since Prue died or since Piper had last seen Mel. Piper, now eight months pregnant no longer could get around very easily. Phoebe and Paige, also now noticeably pregnant too could not move around as easy (but they did move a little quicker than Piper did). They had been very lucky, that no demon had attacked because it would be very dangerous for everyone.

Once again, the three were sitting around the conservatory thinking of a plan. They did this on an almost nightly basis, however, they still had no idea what to do. For the first couple of days, any plan they thought of, was quickly shot down by their husbands, only because they were all concerned for the safety of all of their unborn daughters. Then everyone protested and big arguments were started. Each couple kept arguing for many days before finally making up.

This was the first night that it was just the three of them. Last night everyone got into a huge argument, an argument that divided the couples up: Piper, Henry, and Coop on one side and Phoebe, Paige, and Leo on the other. It was very ugly and it left everyone mad at each other. The sisters forgave each other and their respective husbands earlier this morning, but there was still some tension between them now.

The sisters decided to not include their husbands in their talks anymore. That way, when all this was finally over, the three of them would at least still be married. But without Leo's magical expertise, they had no plans, no solution to their problems. Well, at least not all of their problems. They did know how to defeat Deztrix. They were going to brew their strongest potion and with the 'Call Upon Our Ancestors' spell, they were going to lure Deztrix/James here and vanquish him. The only problem that remained was killing Mel. It was the only problem that every one kept fighting about.

See the issue was that Piper was dead set against not killing her. Coop and Henry took her side, mostly because they couldn't kill the niece that they had met and come to love in such a short time. She believed that they could just send her back to the future and everything would be fine. However, Phoebe, Paige, and even Leo didn't think that Piper's plan could work. Last week, the sisters even summoned an Elder, and a very powerful oracle to see if Melinda really had to die to change the future and both said that the only way for the future to be changed if a Halliwell died, which everyone believed that Halliwell to be Adult Mel, because it made the most sense. She would be born in a month and she wouldn't have to die in that manner when they changed the future.

Piper of course became very upset and blew up one of the chairs across from her. She angrily left the room and blew up more stuff in the attic. Once she returned, she refused to talk to any one that was against her for couple of days.

Last night had been the first time she actually spoke and contributed to the plan. That was-of course-before the huge fight. The sisters still sat in silence waiting for any one to speak. The younger two contemplated how to get through Piper's stubbornness while Piper tried to think of ways around killing her only daughter.

**XXXXX**

Mel awoke, not surprised that she was still in the cage. She was put in here by the demon that grabbed her however long ago. Mel sort of lost track of time that she was in the cage. She couldn't get out; they put an anti-orbing spell on the cage. She was also sure that her mother and her aunts wouldn't be able to magically locate her-not that they would. They didn't know that she had been kidnapped. They probably just thought she was avoiding them again. Mel wanted to kick herself for being so distant ever since she got here. Why couldn't she just get over herself and deal with her family?

She wasted a perfect opportunity to get to know her family. Even though she stayed away so that it wouldn't hurt so much when she went back, she instantly hated herself for her stubbornness. The same stubbornness that got her trapped in this cage. The same stubbornness that caused her to fight with her family. That trademarked Halliwell stubbornness.

Sometimes being a Halliwell really sucked.

**XXXXX**

"Okay, look. We're not helping anyone if we're just sitting here in silence." Phoebe chimed in. Piper stared at her, but continued to not say anything. Phoebe could tell that the last few months had really taken their toll on her older sister. Piper looked very exhausted and had a few more wrinkles along her face. Phoebe also could sense hurt and anger coming off of her, and nothing else, like those were the only emotions Piper was capable of having any more. But Phoebe would never say any of that to her sister, because that would most likely result in something that Phoebe cared for getting blown up, so she get her thoughts to herself. She turned to Paige asking for some help.

Paige looked at her two older sisters. Piper hadn't really talked to them much ever since they summoned that Elder and that oracle last week. And with their family fight, last night Paige was certain that Piper may never speak to them again. Paige had tried to cancel this meeting, but Phoebe disagreed, saying that it could be very dangerous to let Piper push them away. Paige reluctantly agreed. Both and Phoebe and Paige tried to talk to her all day, but Piper didn't want to talk and spent her whole day with her children. It was almost like the more Phoebe and Paige tried to get through to her, the more walls she put up. So after Phoebe's pleading nod for help, Paige finally spoke up and said the one thing she hoped would get her eldest sister talking again.

"Piper, I'm sorry. You were right."

**XXXXX**

"Get up witch! We can finally proceed." The demon yelled at her. Mel slowly got up and face the demon. It was the same one that captured her. She couldn't recognize the demon. She figured he was probably some demon-for-hire, hired just to capture her and feed her until the other demon that hired him was ready for her. She snarled at the demon and once he let her out of the cage she started to fight the demon. She didn't care that he wasn't going to kill her, but she had to get away before the other demon did. She punched him and kicked him until he let her go. Then she felt this incredible rage burning inside of her, unlike anything she had ever felt before. And the next thing that she knew was that she conjured a fireball and aimed it at the demon. He was quickly engulfed in flames.

Mel's rage went away as soon as it came. All of a sudden she was terrified. She had no idea how she could conjure a fire ball. She had never done that before. She thought that she could do that because now her and James could share powers, but James didn't possess that power.

"What the hell is happening to me?"

**XXXXX**

"What did you say?" Both Piper and Phoebe said at the same time. "I said, that you were right Piper, and I'm sorry." Paige replied. Her sisters looked confused. Paige shot Phoebe a "trust me, I know what I'm doing" glance. Phoebe nodded and Paige turned to Piper. "Paige, do you really think that I'm right? Why did you change your mind?" "Well I've been doing a lot of thinking and you're right. It's not fair that Mel has to die when she has done nothing wrong. There has to be another way."

"Actually, I've been thinking of something that might work. Remember when I was an Angel of Death and Phoebe saved you by proposing a trade? Well, I'm going to trade my life for Mel's."

**XXXXX**

Once Mel was free, she ran. She didn't care where she was headed as long as she got away. She really wanted to orb to the Manor and crawl into her mother's arms, cry it all out, all while her mother reassured her that everything was going to be okay. However, she couldn't seem to find the strength required to orb. She was frightened that instead she would land somewhere else again. Like she did when she landed in the Underworld in the first place. It was almost like she could no longer control any of her powers; something or someone else was in control now.

So she decided to run. She kept running, even though she began to feel nauseous and fatigued. She no longer cared. She kind of just wanted to die. So she kept running and ran right into the biggest, demon she could find. She knew exactly what type of demon this was-the Imperviouser King-the most unstoppable demon out there.

As she bounced off of him, he turned towards her, and caught a whiff of her scent. He smelt two distinctive scents, one of them belonged to the child that he had been pursuing for many months, and the other, he did not recognize, but did smell that it contained many powers, ones that he wanted for himself. Even though the King was confused why this girl had to scents, his desire for her power drove him towards her, backing her into a corner. Mel closed her eyes and waited for the death that was sure to come.

**XXXXX**

"Piper that's insane. You can't give up your life for Mel's." Both Phoebe and Paige screamed. Piper shook her head. "Why not. I would do anything for my children. Mel shouldn't have to die for a mistake that I made. Not that she's a mistake or anything like that. Besides this makes the most sense to me. When I'm dead, then none of that horrible future can happen. My children won't have to grow up in that kind of environment. Everything will be okay."

"Piper, this is cra-" "Phoebe, you can't change my mind. Now I'm going upstairs for a nap." Piper said while exiting the room. Phoebe turned to Paige, "Go get our husbands. We're having a mandatory family meeting."

**XXXXX**

Mel, still in the corner could almost smell the breath of the King. It was exceptionally awful and it made her extremely nauseous. "Witch, you're making this way too easy for me. You're not even putting up a fight. And why do you have to scents? Well, the last question I'll figure out as soon as I eat you."

Mel was confused. Two scents. Why would she have two scents? She shook her head so that she could focus on the demon. She wished that she had a crystal sword-the only weapon that could defeat the demon. She needed the sword to cut off his head, which would kill the rest of his kind. All of a sudden, her hand felt heavy, and she looked down. She had conjured a sword! Taken aback she nearly dropped the sword, but remembered the demon. She looked up at him and swung the sword when he was close enough. She successfully chopped off his head and smiled as he disappeared. Then she noticed that the demon was standing in front of a cage. A cage, which looked like it was holding someone. As she approached it, the person stirred, and looked at Mel.

Mel looked back at the cage, instantly recognizing the person. Using the sword she still had in her hand, she cut through the cage, letting its captive out.

**XXXXX**

"Piper this is insane. You can't do this. What about our children?" Leo screamed at his wife. Once Phoebe and Paige filled in their husbands and Leo of Piper's plan, Leo instantly went to his bedroom and woke Piper up. "Leo, I've thought this through, it's the only way. Someone has to pay for this mistake, so why not the person who actually made the mistake." "Piper, please don't think like this. You're not allowed to leave me like that! We are supposed to grow old together. I hate to say it, but we have to let Mel die. It's the only way." "No, Leo, it's not. The Elder said that a Halliwell has to die after Deztrix/James. He never actually said which one. I'm just volunteering. I'm allowing my children to live and have a happy normal, long life." But-" "You can't change my mind either Leo." And with that Piper grabbed her keys and stormed out of the house.

**XXXXX**

The sword went away again and Mel was able to help the captive up. Then Mel suddenly she got a premonition:

** "Paige, I can't believe we have to go and fight demons today. We just gave birth four months ago for crying out loud!" Phoebe yelled at her sister. "You were the one that got the premonition remember! We have an innocent to save." "Why couldn't we send Piper?" "She is so busy trying to open her new restaurant and she offered to babysit. Plus she really hates demon fighting because it conflicts with her 'normal' life. Besides, I miss hanging out with you." "Paige, we can still hang out. We don't need demons to hang out." "Okay. Well, let's save this innocent." Just then Melinda black orbs in, and throws an athame at Paige, instantly killing her. Before Phoebe could react, Melinda orbed behind her and killed her with another athame.**

"I'll kill them." Melinda started crying. "Why?"

"I don't know Mel, but I want you to know that you'll always have me and your powerful son." "Son, what son?" Mel screamed before a realization sunk in. Why she had been extra tired and nauseous all of the time. Why she could conjure a sword or a fireball. Why the demon said she had two scents.

"I'm pregnant?!"


	23. The Power of Love

*Thanks for the reviews and continued support. This chapter is a lot longer than I planned for. There is only three chapters left of this story after this one. So my goal is to finish this one before working on any of the other ones. Of course, once this story is done, I'll post the prequel. And if there is a demand, I'll begin a sequel to this story. I have the idea for one, mostly because I love these characters (James, Adult Mel, and Whitelighter Prue) and I kind of don't want to give them up just yet. Okay let me know and enjoy :)

* * *

"I'm pregnant?" Mel asked again. The newly freed captive just nodded. "How? When? I mean I know all of that, but.." "It's okay Mel. I know that you are in shock. Everything is going to turn out fine. Like I said earlier, you've got me. Oh and I'm sorry. Sorry for everything I said about James. I was wrong."

"Thanks Aunt Prue, that means the world to me." Mel whispered while collapsing into her aunt's arms.

**XXXXX**

"What do you mean she just left Leo! She's eight months pregnant, how could you just let her leave like that?! We have to go find her." "Phoebe calm down. Piper's fine. I would know, you would know." Paige interjected. The three were currently in the attic trying to scry for Piper. They were unsuccessful. "If she's fine, then why can't we find her, Why can't we sense her?" "Maybe she took a play out of Mel's book. She must have cast some sort of spell so that we couldn't find her. She probably just wants to be alone." "You're right Paige. I don't know what's the matter with me."

"I think that everyone's emotions are all running a little high and it's having an effect on you." Leo piped in. Phoebe nodded in agreement. The trio stood in silence. Paige looked over at her sister and her brother-in-law. They both looked lost and hurt. Paige knew that the constant fights with their respective spouses over the last couple of weeks had begun to take a toll on their marriages. It was almost like their marriages we're being targeted. Like some demon, wanted them all to split up.

"Guys, I think there is a demon behind all of these fights." "What?" Phoebe asked. "I mean I don't think that your fights with Coop and your fights with Piper, are part of some evil scheme of some demon to break you guys up." "That's crazy, Paige, I mean." Phoebe began. She shot a look at Leo, who was trying to recall a demon that had the power to do something like this.

"I think you may be right Paige." He replied.

**XXXXX **

Piper was sitting at a secluded part of Golden Gate Bridge. The view of the Bay allowed her to think and get rid of a lot of her unwanted emotions that she had come across over the years. She smiled to herself thinking of the last couple of times that she was here. A couple of days after Leo had returned, they had taken the boys here and she had never been happier in her life. A few years before that, she had come here to make the Golden Gate Bridge disappear when the Cleaners threatened to take Wyatt away from her. And before that, she came here as the Earth Goddess, to watch as she caused the storm reflecting her innermost emotions when Leo first became an Elder.

Now she had once again sot the comfort of this spot. She drove here absentmindedly. She just wanted to get away from everyone. She cast a spell to make sure that no one would follow her, needing to be alone. Piper held back the tears that had threatened to fall again. She was starting to think that she would never stop crying over her life. "Why did it get so screwed up?" was the question she seemed to keep asking herself. First, her daughter came back from some horrible, messed up future. Then her deceased older sister, also came back to tell her how screwed up her future was before she had died all over again. And now her whole family seemed to be against her. Even Leo, her rock, her love, her soulmate, the one person she always believed that she could count on as her world fell apart.

She sat in silence and watched over everyone. They all seemed so happy. Piper just wanted to blow them up. She closed her eyes and shut everyone else out. When she opened them, she was surprised that she was no longer alone. Her brother-in-law Coop now stood in front of her. She shot him a confused look. "Hey Coop, what are you doing here?" "I followed you from the Manor." He admitted sheepishly. "Why?" "There is something wrong. Something demonically wrong with Phoebe and I, and I thought that maybe we could figure it out. Together." "Wait, what?" "This is stupid, I shouldn't have come, but Phoebe is avoiding me and..." Piper smiled at her brother-in-law. Even though he hadn't been a part of this family long, Piper always liked him. She knew that Phoebe and him worked well together, and that the loved formed between them was real and genuine. And even though Piper felt they had rushed into their marriage, she supported their decision and stood by the both of them one hundred percent because he made Phoebe happy. And Piper would do anything to make sure her baby sister remained happy.

She smiled again and patted the ground next to her, motioning for him to sit down. He nodded and sat down. Once he was comfortable, he turned to her. "So Coop, how is a demon messing with your marriage?"

**XXXXX **

"Aunt Prue, what should I do about the baby?" "You will raise the baby. With James of course." "I'm scared. What if I'm not a good mother?' "Mel, I have know you you're whole life. You will be a great mother." Prue answered her, which didn't really reassure Mel - but it was a start. Mel looked at her aunt and bit her lip before asking, "What will our family say?"

Mel had cast a spell that would prevent any demon from seeing them. Prue was weak, and couldn't walk or stand for too long. So the duo stayed put. The two were cuddled up in the corner and once her aunt was better, Mel decided that she was going to orb back to the Manor and get help. That way the entire family could vanquish the demon that did this to Prue. Mel was certain that the same demon was also responsible for kidnapping James. She would make him pay.

"Who cares Mel. Forget them. You finished your mission, now I think that we should go back. We can't do anything here. Our family has rejected us. Let's go now."

Mel paused. She really wanted to leave, but was terrified of what she would face when she got back. She sighed. "I'm not ready to go back. I won't be able to face her." "You are more powerful than her Melinda. You need to start believing that. That way you can find that strength needed to defeat her. I believe you can do it." Mel didn't answer right away. Her aunt's faith in her inspired confidence. She knew that she would be able to face any demon she came across, especially during her pregnancy. But something was off. Prue never talked this way. She always believed that Piper could be saved. What had changed her mind now?

"What happened with my mother? Why aren't you trying to save her, like you're always campaigning to do?" "I've realized that she can't be saved. It's too late."

Mel eyed her aunt suspiciously. That answer was strange. Her aunt not only avoided the question, but also gave a vague answer. Normally, Prue voiced her opinions and was very open and honest with Mel; Prue was never cryptic, something that Mel admired about her aunt. Mel became very suspicious again and then did something that she promised she would never do. She peeked into her aunt's mind. There was nothing. Prue had no thoughts or memories running through her mind, like Prue normally did when she talked, especially about Piper. This wasn't her aunt. It was almost as if this was a projection of some kind. Mel quickly backed away from her "aunt" and stood up.

"Who are you? And what have you done with my aunt?" Then the other stood up and shape-shifted. Mel's face dropped. "Hi, my beautiful, sweet Melinda." "Letro?!" "You're mine witch and now no one can hear you scream."

**XXXXX**

"It all started a couple weeks ago, around the time Prue died." Coop began. Piper nodded and waited for him to continue. She listened intently trying to see if there were similarities between her sister's failing marriage, and her own. She wanted to see if maybe a demon was after her and Leo's marriage as well, because then she would have something to blast away, something to take her anger and frustration out on and then she would be able to fix this and go back to being happy- or at least as happy she could be knowing that somehow she was going to fail her family so badly. "Phoebe and I have our fights, but what couple doesn't. However, these fights over the last couple of weeks have been so intense, it's almost like the argument is being amplified somehow because we fight over the stupid things now and I feel that my heart is going to break in two and that we're constantly one fight away from a divorce." Coop finished and looked at Piper. She sighed. "I get what you're saying. Lately, I feel like that too with Leo. And every time I'm in the same room with him for more than five minutes, I just want to blow him up. But then I leave the room and I forget why I was so mad in the first place." Coop nodded in agreement. "I think we need to figure this out before we do something that we can't fix." "We need to talk to our spouses." She responded.

**XXXXX**

"There is a demon that exists out there in the world that tries to separate the bonds between magical married people." Leo responded. His sister-in-laws stared at him blankly. He sighed and continued. "But this demon is a rumor. No one knows much about him, and many don't even believe that he exists. Like Andras, the demon of rage you faced years ago Phoebe, this demon works by amplifying fights between the married couple and also brings out the insecurities of the marriage and the couple will keep fighting until either the bond is completely severed or the spouses kill each other." "How do we stop this from happening and why do I also fight with Piper?" Phoebe asked. "That's the problem, once infected, the couple can't ever get over this, not magically of course. The only way to get over this is the couple has to not start a fight and successfully rekindle their love for one another before it's too late. This is an almost impossible task, because whenever the couple is in the same room, they will begin to fight right away. And any other people around the couple get affected too, which is why Paige you and Henry start to fight whenever Piper and I or Phoebe and Coop begin to fight. Or why you Phoebe get so angry at Piper, whenever her and I are in the same room."

The three stood in silence. Paige looked at Leo. "Why are you and Piper infected and not Henry and myself?" Leo looked at his youngest sister-in-law and sighed. "His magic doesn't work on mortals at all. So if Piper and I are infected too, then that means I still have whitelighter in me. It must be integrated into my DNA somehow, which would also explain why Mel has whitelighter powers." "We need to find Piper and sort this out fast."

**XXXXX**

"Letro go away from me!" Mel screamed. Letro smiled evilly at her. "Come on Mel. You were always the weak link. Hell, you're mother didn't even care about you. She'd written you off the minute you were born. Only because you were her third child. You were an accident Mel, you're mother and father didn't even want you. Your father left because of you." Letro taunted. Mel shook her head. "No you're wrong. My family loves me." "Then why aren't they here now trying to save you?" Mel kept shaking her head. She wouldn't let him get to her. "You're not real." She whispered to herself.

She had read his mind and again there was nothing there. Whoever this was had blocked her telethapy. She held back the tears that came with being this close to him. All she wanted to do was vanquish this man. He destroyed everything. But she stopped herself. She knew that if she tapped into those powers too often, she would lose control of them forever. So she just tried to push him away from her mind. He wasn't going away.

"Why don't you vanquish me? I am the reason your life is a mess. I seduced your mother away from your loving father. I am the one who convinced her to say the spell to erase his memories. I was the one that ordered the beatings. I was the one who tried to take you as my own. I was the one who convinced your mother to look the other way as I touched you. I am the one who killed Prue. And I am the one who kidnapped James."

She felt the anger boil up inside of her. She could kill him here and now, but then whoever was after her would win. Whoever was messing with her mind, was also trying to force her into using her new powers. Because if she used those powers she would turn evil. That wasn't something that Mel ever wanted to be. She saw what happened when a good witch turned evil, it ended up destroying lives and starting wars and killing off children's innocence. No, she would never turn evil, because she was good. She wouldn't be able to handle being evil.

"Leave me alone!" She yelled while orbing a sharp rock at Letro. The rock hit him square in the head, which knocked him out. Mel sighed in relief. She closed her eyes to calm herself. When she opened them she saw him. "James. I found you." She called out before running over to him.

**XXXXX**

Phoebe called for Coop. She knew that it was risky, but she didn't want her marriage to end and the only way was for them to work out all of their issues. She was taken aback when she saw that Piper was with him. She got suspicious and had to fight every urge inside of her to yell at him; she was paranoid, that them beaming in together meant that they were having an affair or something. Phoebe sighed when she realized how irrational that sounded. Coop wouldn't cheat on her, especially not with one of her sisters. He must have gone to her after Phoebe shut him out.

"Hey" He called out to her. She nodded at him. Piper and Leo looked at each other, but didn't say anything. In fact, no one was saying anything. The quiet room was driving everyone crazier then they already were. Finally, Paige could not handle the tension between the two couples any more. "There is a reason you guys are fighting. A demon who attacks the marital bonds of magical people. Now you need to fix this before something bad happens." She said filling in Coop and Piper. Piper turned to her youngest sister. "What do we need to do?"

**XXXXX**

"James where were you? I was so worried! I thought you were dead!" "I know Mel. I'm sorry." He smiled at her. She smiled back the two hugged and Mel never wanted to let him go. "Who did this to you?" "Your family."

**XXXXX**

The five adults stood around. It was established that Paige would play mediator between the two couples. Coop and Phoebe would go first, so that Piper and Leo's issues wouldn't cause her to lose it with Coop. Paige looked at Phoebe and then at Coop. "Coop, why don't you start?"

Coop took a deep breath before starting. "Phoebe, I sometimes feel that you only married me because future Wyatt accidently called me 'Uncle' or that you were just using me to finally have that child you foresaw." Paige put up her hand to stop Phoebe. It was a tactic that she learned as a social worker. This allowed Phoebe to calmly reply to Coop, as Paige instructed. Phoebe took a deep breath.

"I think that Wyatt calling you 'uncle' only helped me to realize that I did have feelings for you, but I was too scared to admit it to anyone. I was scared that our love would be forbidden and I was scared that I would have to endure a battle similar to Piper and Leo's and I knew that my heart wouldn't have been able to deal with that after everything it already went through. And the daughter part. Once I realized that I loved you and our love wouldn't be forbidden, I also realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I know longer cared if I got that daughter, only that I got to be with you. You're everything I've ever hoped for. Everything I've ever wanted. I love our life together Coop. And I wouldn't change it for the world. If I was asked to do it over again, I would do it exactly the same. Actually, I would have married you the day I met you because that's when I actually did fall in love with you."

"Phoebe, I've been waiting for months for you to say that. I fell for you the first time I met you too. But I was scared that you would never let me into your heart. And then I started setting you up with people and it broke my heart a little because I knew you should be with me no matter the consequences." "Oh, Coop. That's why I was so against you setting me up." She smiled at him before giving him a hug and a kiss. Coop smiled at Phoebe. "I love you so much. if I ever lost you. I couldn't live." "I love you too Coop. I'm so happy whenever you're around. You truly helped me finally move on from Cole and restored my belief that true love does exist." The pair kissed again and the other three turned away to give them their privacy. They also begin to feel the love between the couple.

**XXXXX**

"My family?! They wouldn't do this to me!" Mel screamed. "They didn't want us to be together, but now we can. We can kill them and no one will be able to stop us!" He smiled evilly at her. A confused expression crossed her face. "I was sent here to protect them." "No you weren't." "How would you know?" "I'm the one that sent you back. I am the one who came up with this whole plan. I am the most powerful demon ever!" James laughed.

"James you're scaring me. You didn't send me back, Chris did." "No love, I am the one who sent you back. Not your precious brother Chris. You're here because of me!" "What are you talking about James?"

**XXXXX **

"Piper and Leo it's your turn." Paige said after a few minutes. Phoebe and Coop remained in the room but moved to a corner for some privacy. Piper sighed. After watching all that her younger sister just went through, she was scared that her and Leo's insecurities would stop them permanently from ever being happy. "Piper, you can go first. And remember you are not allowed to respond without thinking first." Piper and Leo nodded.

"Leo, every time you leave the house, I worry that you won't come back. Or I worry that the Angel of Destiny, the Elders, Letro, or some other magical being will take you away from me. It's why I can't sleep at night. It's why I grip you a little tighter when we hug. Because if I'm holding on to you then no one can take you without taking me as well. And I'm scared that I won't be able to function without you if you do leave. You've been my rock for so long. I just couldn't imagine my life without you." Leo smiled. He saw the fear in her eyes. He sighed.

"I'm not leaving you and if someone tries to take me away again, I'll personally kill them. Piper. I would give up anything to just to see you smile. Your smile makes me smile. You claim that I am your rock, but really, you are my rock. After everything that happened with Gideon and Zola, I don't think I would have survived without you right next to me calming me down. You've always had this hold over me. When we're not together, I feel like this empty shell. I feel like something is missing. Like when you dated Dan. I wanted to punch him from taking you from me, even though I was never there for you when you wanted me to be. When you needed me to be. I hated myself and thought about clipping my wings just for you. For us. So I could selfishly rip you out of his arms and hold you and never let you go. During those days, I was thrilled whenever you would glance at me from across the bar. My heart melted for that small second, but you would just keep going on with your day, unaffected by what you did to me.

"I always hoped that you would chose me. And you do time and time again. I don't deserve you. You deserve better than me Piper. You deserve someone who can make not only make you happy, but someone who can promise to not leave and break your heart on a regular basis. I fear that one day you'll wake up and realize this and leave me for good." Leo paused. Everyone in the room had begun to cry. Piper took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. She smiled at Leo and took a step closer to him so that she could cup his face with her hand. She gently wiped the tears off of him. He closed his eyes at her touch. The two stood there for a few minutes without saying anything. Finally Piper spoke.

"Leo. I love you. I always have and always will. Don't ever think that I don't deserve you or that you don't deserve me. Nothing will ever change how I feel about you. Whenever we broke up, I wanted to hate you. I wanted to stop loving you. I wanted to move on from you, but I couldn't. You're a part of me. Without you I feel incomplete. I would do anything for you just like you would do anything for me, which is probably one of our problems-our codependency on each other. How both of us would do anything to save the other, even risk our own lives. This attitude that we have is probably going to leave our children parent-less earlier then it should." Leo smiled at her and kissed her hand that was still on his cheek. "I love you Piper." "I love you too Leo." And Leo and Piper kissed passionately, a little more passionately then they did whenever anyone else was around. They had forgotten about everyone else in the room. All they concentrated on was each other.

When the kiss was over, Piper remembered her still crying sisters and Coop, which caused her to blush. "Um sorry about that." She admitted. The others smiled at her. "Never apologize for showing your love Piper. Besides, I'm a cupid. I'm used to it." Coop said, breaking the tension. Paige nodded and Phoebe kept smiling. Piper blushed again. "Okay, now that is taken care of, let's all promise to not fight like that again." Paige replied. Everyone nodded and the two couples started talking amongst themselves.

**XXXXX**

"Firstly, I prefer the name Deztrix." Deztrix said, shapeshifting into his normal form. Mel gasped. "What happened to James?" "There was never a 'James'." "Aunt Prue was right about you. I should have listened." "Listened to her? She knew nothing. Didn't you learn that after you "rescued" her? If you want I'll shape-shift into her again for you so you can learn that again. I was glad when I killed her."

Mel froze. The man she thought she loved killed her favorite aunt. "What about Letro? Did you kill him too? And why shape-shift into him?" "No, your aunt beat me to that one. I shape-shifted into my pathetic half-brother because I needed you to use your powers. I needed to turn you to evil for my plan to work." Mel had been right. Good thing she didn't use those powers.

"Why did you do this to me?" "To get revenge. See, your family killed my father years ago. So I have been working on this plan to get my revenge. It was simple really, I casted a spell to travel in time and shape-shifted into your brother. Then I convinced you to go to the past so that we could be together as the most powerful evil couple ever and conceive the most powerful heir to our throne, which effectively ends the Charmed Line forever." "Wait, I agreed to go back after months and months of coercion, what happened to Chris?" "I killed him. It was easy, really. I got a darklighter friend of mine to shoot an arrow at him while I distracted him. And since everyone in your family, was either dead or preoccupied with demon hunting or was the Source of all Evil, no one was there to help save Chris. I think that he did try to call out for you."

"You bastard! He meant everything to me. He was my best friend. He was the only who cared about me. I can never join by your side. I hate you. I don't even know who you are! All I know is that you're an evil demon who tricked me into loving you. Stay away from me and my family. This marriage is over."

"I am the only one who can determine when our marriage is over not you! You do not get to ruin my plan because of your puny humanity. I will get my revenge on the Charmed Ones with you by my side!" He took her by the hand and started to lead her away. She dropped his hand and orbed away in tears.

**XXXXX**

"I hate to break up these reunions, but I can sense Mel. And she's in a lot of pain." Paige said to the group. Before some fight could break out and erase all the progress made by her family, Paige held out her hand. "Let's not talk about killing Mel. Right now she needs someone to talk to. She's on the bridge. Only one of us should go so that she's not overwhelmed. We wouldn't want her to completely turn away from us."

"I'll go, she's my daughter." Piper volunteered and began making the teleportation potion she would need to get on the bridge. Leo walked over to her grabbed her head with both of his hands and forced her to look at her. "Let me go. Please." "Leo it's too dangerous. She could throw you off the bridge." "She could throw you off the bridge. Or something could happen to the baby. Please I need this." His eyes pleaded with her and she sighed before giving in. "Okay, but you come back in one piece and alive or I'll summon you from the dead so I can vanquish you myself." He smiled. "I don't doubt that."

The couple stood in silence while they waited for the potion to cool. Phoebe and Coop left to be alone. Paige decided that she missed her husband and said she would call if Mel moved. Piper and Leo where left alone. At least they no longer wanted to kill each other. Tears began to fall down Piper's face. Leo cupped her check and brushed away her tears.

"What's wrong baby?" He whispered. "I'm still so scared that we're not going to make through this." "Piper, I'm not going anywhere. I promise. These last few weeks have been hell. No I'm sure hell would be more preferable to these last few weeks. I'm not leaving you again. We will be playing Scrabble in fifty years, waiting for the younger versions of us to visit. Please trust in that. Trust in us." "But..." "No, you're not allowed to think negatively about us anymore. Nothing short of death will keep me away from you. How many times do I have to prove that to you?" Piper didn't respond. Instead she hugged Leo and bottled the potion into two different vials. The couple exchanged a quick kiss as she handed him both potions. "I love you. Please be safe. I can't lose you Leo, not now. And bring our daughter home too." He smiled and threw the first potion on the ground.

She watched him leave. She was almost tempted to take some of the leftover potion and follow him. She decided against it and trusted that he would come back to her. Just like he always did. She had to. Or else she would fall to pieces every time he left the house. His words still rang through her mind. "_We will be playing Scrabble in fifty years, waiting for the younger versions of us to visit. Please trust in that. Trust in us." _"I will Leo. I will trust in us." She whispered.


	24. Witches United

*I can't believe I am updating this story again! I've just been so motivated to write this, because of the reviews I'm getting (not for this story, but for my other ones) I want to finish this story so I can update my other ones. Plus I also plan on finishing this story by the end of the week. I can't believe it's almost all over. Next chapter is when everything goes down. And the chapter after that is the epilogue! I'll probably do a sequel to this story, because there is so much fun to be had! I don't mean to offend anyone with this next chapter. Its all part of the story. Once again thanks for the reviews and continued support. The more reviews I get for all of my stories, the faster I'll update this story, and all of the others. Please review and enjoy :)

* * *

Mel orbed to the bridge. Even though he had tainted this place for her, she still came back here. She hoped that if she came back here then maybe, just maybe she could sleep and wake up and all of this would just be a dream. That she would wake up with James, her James, the one that she loved with whole heart. They would wake up and go back to their time and be together and happy for forever. She laughed at her innocence. She could never gain that back. Things would never be the same.

She was on the bridge for nearly an hour before she sensed someone behind her. Why couldn't her family just leave her alone, when she most needed it? She was angry and was super tempted to throw the newcomer of the bridge. It would serve them right. She turned to the newcomer, ready to yell at her mother or her aunts, and was surprised that instead it was her father. She was still tempted to throw the man off the bridge, but instead turned away from him. He sat down next to her and didn't say anything. In a way, this was more soothing than being here all alone. They sat in a comfortable silence for over an hour.

The whole situation was so strange to him and he had encountered his fair amount of strange. Here he sat at the edge of the Golden Gate Bridge, a place he often found refuge in during his days as a whitelighter, with a future version of his daughter, a daughter who would be born within a month. Sure, Chris did come back from the past before he was born, and sure he had been there when Piper was pregnant, but this time felt different. Maybe it was because he knew that she was his daughter, unlike with Chris,where Leo saw him as a threat, someone who was after his eldest child. And when he found out that Chris was his son, he hated himself for the way that he had treated the time traveler.

Finally Leo decided to break their silence. For the past hour he sat and watched his future daughter. She was beautiful, more beautiful then he could ever imagine. She was Piper's twin, just like his wife had said. Her pink hair seem to compliment her features very well. It was almost like her pink hair was natural, a part of her. He kept that in mind for when his present daughter, the one that Piper was still pregnant with, grow to be a teenager and wanted to dye her hair.

"Mel, I don't want to force you to talk to me. That's not why I'm here." "Then why are you here?" "Paige, told me that you were in a lot of pain, that you needed someone to talk to. I volunteered, mostly because I was convinced that I was the family member least likely to be thrown off the bridge by you." "What made you think that I still won't?" "Because we've been sitting up here for an hour and you haven't even tried." "You haven't given me a reason to."

Leo smiled at Mel. He nodded and the two sat in silence again. Mel looked at the past version her father. She couldn't remember the last time that she had talked to her him. In fact, she had never had a conversation with any version of this man. She sighed. She always envied everyone who knew their fathers, had relationships with them. Now was her chance. She could finally have that long awaited conversation that she always dreamed off. She hated to admit it, but when she was younger she always dreamed that one day her father would swoop in, kill her stepfather, win her mother back and then they could all be a family again. Every year that insane notion left her mind. As she grew older, she thought of her father less and less and eventually she never thought of him. He was just the guy that used to sleep with her mother. However morbid that sounded, she couldn't think of him in any other way because that hurt too much. But now, she could only think of him as what he was-a loving, compassionate man who had sat with her on the bridge in silence because she wasn't willing to talk just yet. Mel knew that he would sit with her forever. It was in this moment that she considered this man her father. She wasn't going to let this precious moment pass her by.

"Dad," she whispered pulling him from his thoughts. All of her hurt and pain shone threw with just that simple word. He looked at her, and she looked back. Then she burst into tears. Leo quickly readjusted himself so he could pull her into his arms. He stroked her hair and let her cry into his shoulder. Neither of them spoke. Mel didn't pull away and Leo held her until she stopped crying.

Once she was done, she quickly pulled away and stared at the man. He was so caring. He tucked a piece of hair behind her hair. "What's the matter sweetheart? You can tell me anything. And I promise I won't tell you mother anything you say, unless you want me too." "Thanks. And sorry for getting your shirt all wet, I don't know what came over me." "I understand. And I don't mind." The two sat in silence for a little longer while. Mel sighed and looked up at Leo. She had so many questions for the man, but didn't know where to start. And suddenly she asked the one question she never thought she would ask.

"How did you know that Piper was the one?" Leo was taken aback by his daughter's question. He smiled and thought of all that he had experienced earlier that day. "When we weren't together I always felt that there was a piece of me missing. I didn't quite know what was missing, and when I met her, I realized that she made my whole. I felt things for her that I never felt before. Her smile lit up any room that she entered and she completely captivated me. I couldn't focus on anything else when she was in the room." "Does she feel the same way about you?" "Yes." "Then why did you leave? Why didn't you fight to stay?"

Leo paused. Then it hit him. Mel seemed to forget that she was in the past and that he hadn't left Piper or her and her brothers yet. But Mel still needed to talk about it with him. Because she needed to understand why this affected every other relationship she had been in. Leo then realized that Mel was in pain, not because of what he would potentially do, but because of James. James had hurt Mel, which he would pay for, and Mel thought that it was because of her absent father that she had gotten hurt. Her father hadn't been there to talk to her about being careful around men, about being careful with her heart. There was certain things that a father taught his daughter, and Mel didn't have a father figure to teach them to her. Leo wanted to kick the future version of himself. How could he leave his little girl all alone in the world, especially with a potentially abusive stepfather and an emotionless mother, who didn't have the time of day for her? Mel had to raise herself. Sure she had her Aunt Prue to help, but she needed more. She deserved more. Mel had done nothing wrong, yet everyone seemed to keep leaving her life and she probably blamed herself. That all of this was her fault somehow. No matter what happened, Leo knew that he would never leave his little girl all alone. He would kill anyone that got in the way of him raising his daughter.

Mel kept staring at him and Leo took a deep breath before replying. "Look Mel, I'm not going to try and understand the actions of my future self, but I am going to speak from past experience. Whenever your mother broke up with me, I tried my best to stay away from her. Because not only would it make things less harder for me emotionally, but also because it's what she wanted. She needed her space and I didn't want to force her in any way. I didn't want to pressure her because that would send her over her breaking point." Mel nodded and thought over his answer. Once she had accepted his answer she looked up at her father. "She'll never stop loving you." "What?"

"I'm a telepath. I constantly read her mind. I didn't mean to, but for a while, I couldn't control it. When you first left, she cried herself to sleep. She always wished that you would come back. She never loved my stepfather. In fact, I'm pretty sure she never willingly gave herself over to him if you know what I mean. She let him do whatever he wanted to her to make sure my brothers or I wouldn't get killed. But no matter how long you were gone, she never stopped thinking of you. Of course, over the years the hurt you caused started to affect her less and less. And eventually she just shut off all emotions in general. She became cold. And she would never talk about you no matter how much I asked about you. Then she told me that you were dead, so I would stop asking questions. I knew you weren't dead."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" "Because I need you to keep fighting. I need you to never leave. Can you promise me that? Try the best you can to keep our family together. Had Piper not lost you, then I don't think that the future would have been as bad for me or my brothers." "I promise Melinda, I'm not going anywhere. Not this time around." Tears came to her eyes as he made his promise. No one ever called her Melinda. In fact, she wasn't even sure how her father knew that that was her name. Unless Prue told him, because Mel had never said it to anyone. She decided not to dwell on it. He was her father after all. And her mother had always said that she knew that her daughter would be named Melinda, especially after meeting that other version of her when Piper and her sisters had traveled to the future-Prue told her about that visit.

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes. She was finally ready to face her problems. And there was no other person on this planet that she wanted to talk to then Leo. "Dad, why does love hurt so much?" Leo smiled. "If I knew the answer to that, I would tell you Mel. I honestly don't know how something so fantastic can also be so horrible at times. What happened to make you say that?" "It's James. It turns out that he is in fact a demon. And a very evil, a very powerful one at that. He tricked me and now all I want to do is vanquish him." "Mel, if I had a dollar for every time that a demon tricked a Halliwell into love only to hurt them, then I would be a really rich man." Leo laughed.

"That's not funny! I trusted him. And he was just using me! I hate him so much!" "Come here." He gestured, pulling her into his arms. She cuddled up against his chest and felt like a little girl again. "I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at the situation. Your mother once said 'Us Halliwells are gifted as witches and cursed as women.' Consider being burned by at least one demon part of your birthright." "Being a Halliwell sucks. When did she say that?" "The day of our wedding. But we got through it. The same as every Halliwell that went through that before you did. You will pull through this. And your mother and your aunts will vanquish James and any other demon that hurts you after this. Believe me. And if they won't then, I will. Or your brothers will." "But why? What if you guys get hurt?" "Because that's what families do for each other."

Mel nodded and contented herself with being in her father's arms. She felt safe and secure. That no one was going to hurt her while she was there. She stood up and also pulled her father up. She gave him a hug. "Thank you so much for everything dad." "My pleasure, anytime. While I'm around, nothing will hurt you again. Let's go home." She nodded and orbed both herself and her father to the Manor. She landed in the attic.

Her mother was there. Upon seeing her, Piper nodded at Leo who winked back and she smiled. "Hi, Mel. Did you have a good talk?" "Yes, it was exactly what I needed. Thank you for sending him. Also I'm sorry, that I've been so distant. I just thought it would be easier. And also I'm sorry for trusting James over you. And I'm sorry for anything else I need to be sorry for." Then Mel did something that no one expected. She ran over and hugged her mother. Piper hugged her back and kissed her on the forehead before Mel pulled away.

"It was a good talk indeed." Piper said looking over at Leo. He gave her a 'we'll talk about it later' glance and she nodded before turning to her daughter. "Are you hungry sweetie? I'll go make something for you to eat. After dinner you can go sleep in the bedroom that I gave you when you first came. My sisters have both moved back out. So no one is using it." "Thank you. I'll go shower now." "Okay food will be ready soon. What would you like?" "Um anything is fine with me. Oh and I'm not leaving again. Not until we defeat James." Piper smiled as her daughter walked out of the room before turning to her husband.

"What happened on that bridge? And what did she mean by her last comment." "All I'll tell you is she's back on our side for good. Oh and you were right? We can't kill Mel, but you're not going to die either." "Then who will?" "Me."


	25. Goodbyes

*So sorry for not updating sooner. I've had major writer's block. This is the chapter that everything goes down! I want to thank everyone who has read this story. It always brightened my day whenever I got a review on it (It was my first fanfiction ever). I especially want to thank lizardmomma and ObsessedwReading for all or your reviews. So this will be my last author's note. The next chapter will just be the epilogue. Once again thank you and enjoy the ending of this fanfic :)

*P.S. Don't hate me. And the Prequel is called "Past Pains." I'll be posting the first chapter in a few days (hopefully) and the sequel will most likely come later.

* * *

"Leo, WHAT?!" Piper yelled at her husband. She was once again on the verge of tears. Did the conversation that they held earlier mean nothing to him? Did he really think that after all these years, Piper would just sit back and let him die? That she was going to willingly let him sacrifice himself just so he could prove his love for her and their children. She felt anger the anger rising within her, the anger that normally proceeded something being blown up. She took a deep breath and tried to control her power.

"Listen to me Piper. I've thought a lot about this. It makes the most logical sense." "No, it doesn't Leo. You're not even a Halliwell!" "Piper, we've been married long enough that I'm now technically a Halliwell. I mean some kid at magic school called me 'Mr. Halliwell' the other day because he knew I was married to you." "Leo, if you think I'm letting you anyway near this house during this battle, then you have another thing coming." "Piper, I'm just at fault as you are. We brought Mel into this world together."

"Don't even start. Mel wasn't a mistake. She was conceived out of our love." "I know, but we messed with the grand design by conceiving her. And someone has to pay the price. And I'm volunteering to do so. For you, for us, for our family." "How can you say that this is for our family? Because without you, there is no family." "Piper," "Don't you 'Piper' me. I'm incredibly pissed off right now, especially at you. I'm going to make dinner for our daughter to calm down. Oh and by the way, YOU DO NOT GET TO GET YOURSELF KILLED! WE HAVE WORKED TOO HARD FOR ALL OF THIS FOR YOU TO JUST GIVE THIS ALL UP!" Piper yelled while storming out of the attic. Leo was tempted to follow her, but decided it would be better for her to cool down a bit before speaking with his wife again. So instead he grabbed a piece of paper and prepared to write his goodbyes to Piper, his sister-in-laws and his children. Once finished, he neatly tucked the letters in a place that nobody would find until it was too late.

**XXXXX **

"Is everything ok? I heard screaming, even with the water running." Mel said coming into the kitchen. Piper looked at the future version of her daughter and turned back to vegetable she was chopping up. "Yeah, your dad and I had a disagreement." "What about?" Mel asked. Piper paused and put down her knife. She took a deep breath to gather her thoughts. "Um Mel, you might want to sit down for what I have to tell you."

Mel confusedly sat down. Piper sat down across from her. Mel noted that Piper had tears streaming down her face. Piper took another deep breath. "When Prue came back from the future, she told us the three things that need to happen before you're born in order to change the future. The first two are the deaths of Letro and um, James." "James?" "Yeah apparently he is the one that changed everything." "Yeah I know. I think he may be the Source." "The Source?! No that makes things that much more work. I don't know if we will be able to defeat him if he's the Source. What makes you say that?!"

"Well, um I'm pregnant and I have powers, more powerful than anything I have ever felt before." "What do you mean?" "I'm only two weeks along and already the baby can conjure anything he wants to." "That's not good." "Yeah and I remember everything that happened with your pregnancy with my younger brother. I mean, when someone is pregnant with a demonic baby, especially a very powerful one, the baby eventually takes over the woman's body. But that was after months. This baby has to be extremely powerful for do it after mere weeks. The only power that is strong enough is.."

"The Source." "Exactly. We better get my aunts. Because we gonna have to kill James right away." "Why? We still have a month before you are born." "Uhh, I kinda lied about my birthday that first night-to not worry you or anything." "Mel, what are you talking about?" "I told you I was born March 21st, but actually I was born February 21st." "But that's five days from now! How are we going to get the other two things done before that!?" "Killing James and what else?" "A Halliwell has to die."

**XXXXX**

Leo had just made his way down the stairs when he heard Mel scream "WHAT?!" at the top of her lungs. He then heard his wife trying to calm down his daughter. He quickly ran over to the kitchen to see what was going on. "Hey, what's the matter?" Leo asked. His daughter turned to him and frowned.

"How could you volunteer to die like that! After everything you said on the bridge, how can you willingly leave this family again?!" "Mel, look a Halliwell has to die." "You're not dying. You're not leaving me again. In fact, I'm going to do everything to stop your death. I'm going to kill myself." "That's not an option Mel." Piper chimed in. Mel turned to look at her mother and took a deep breath.

"Look, I'm pregnant with an incredibly evil baby. A baby that I know has not a single once of good within him, despite the fact that he comes from the Halliwell line. He is pure evil and if he ever was born, the world wouldn't survive. I need to do this for the safety of the world." "Mel," "Dad, stop please. You aren't sacrificing yourself. In fact, I'm not letting anyone else sacrifice themselves. Everyone in this family deserves a long, happy life and everyone will get that if I die. If I'm the Halliwell killed after James. Trust me, I came from a future where no one had long, happy lives. Don't try to stop this from happening. It's part of my destiny. Now excuse me, I'm going to get my aunts so we can vanquish my demon husband."

She orbed away. Leo looked at his wife. "Well, she's definitely your daughter." He laughed. She glared at him before turning back to her dinner.

**XXXXX **

"My liege, you called for us?" "Yes, I need you to attack all of the Halliwells that have whitelighter blood." "But that's pure suicide." "I am the Source, and what I say goes. Now, I need you and some of your kind to help with my attack against those witches." "How many?" "As many as you can gather in a few hours. We attack at midnight."

**XXXXX**

Mel gathered up her aunts and filled them in on all that they missed before orbing them and their husbands back to the Manor. Once there everyone ate the dinner that Piper had prepared in silence, lost in their own thoughts.

Phoebe and Paige were relieved that Mel agreed with them, but worried about Leo. They knew that he would do anything to protect his family. The three women secretly debated casting some sort of spell on him (before they had arrived at the Manor), so he wouldn't get hurt, but Piper would never allow for that to happen out of fear of some horrible backfire and they all quickly lost that thought. Piper kept staring at the various members of her family and held back the thought that this was most likely going to be the last meal they ate together. Her sisters and herself agreed to send their husbands far away so that they wouldn't be hurt by the battle. After dinner, Mel was going to orb her father, her brothers, and her uncles to some undisclosed location, so that they wouldn't try to make their way back to the battle that was going to happen in five days time.

Halfway through dinner, Mel excused herself. She couldn't handle the silence and the stares that her parents kept giving her. She went into the kitchen and started making a potion-the same one that Prue used on Letro, the strongest one ever brewed by the Halliwell line. They would need it to kill James, no Deztrix the Demon, Mel reminded herself. She knew that calling him Deztrix would make it that much easier to vanquish him.

She cursed silently at the sky when the potion blew up. It was louder than expected, and it would definitely alert everyone in the next room what she was up too. Right on cue, her family came rushing in to check on her. She told them that she was fine and the men left to start clearing the table. Everyone stood around in silence.

**XXXXX**

An hour after dinner was over everyone was sitting on the couch. Phoebe was sitting next to her eldest niece. She wanted to comfort her, because out of all her sisters, Phoebe could relate to Mel in this moment the most. However, Phoebe couldn't find the words to say. She hated talking about Cole to anyone, and she was more nervous that Coop was in the room with her. She had never really gone into detail about her relationship with her ex, mostly because it was still painful for her to talk about. Coop, obviously knew her feelings about Cole, but respected her privacy, not wanting to push his wife to relive that pain. With an encouraging nod from her sisters and her husband, and took a deep breath to gather the right words to say to her grieving niece.

"Mel, look. I know you and I haven't talked that much since you've been here. No make that your entire life. But I want you to know that I know exactly what you're going through, not because of my empathy, but because I went through a similar situation." Phoebe paused. Mel looked at her aunt and smiled. "I know. Aunt Prue told me all about Cole." "She did?" Phoebe asked relieved that she didn't have to talk about him too much. "Yeah, plus someone brought him back to life, so I also learned his side of the story too." "Someone brings him back to life? Who?" Piper asked. At the same time Paige had rhetorically asked "Will that demon ever stay dead? How many times are we going to have to vanquish him?!"

Mel smiled at her family. She decided to not answer any of their questions. She didn't want them to know that he once again joined the family and that she called him 'Uncle.' She also didn't want them to know how her and her brothers, accidently brought him back when they were younger, something she was sure they were going to probably do again in this timeline.

Phoebe grabbed onto her niece to comfort her. When they touched, they were both pulled into the same premonition:

**"My liege, you called for us?" "Yes, I need you to attack all of the Halliwells that have whitelighter blood." "But that's pure suicide." "I am the Source, and what I say goes. Now, I need you and some of your kind to help with my attack against those witches." "How many?" "As many as you can gather in a few hours. We attack at midnight." **

"You saw that too right?" Mel asked Phoebe. Phoebe nodded and turned to her siblings. "Deztrix is going to attack at midnight."

**XXXXX**

Deztrix smiled as he looked at the makeshift army in front of him. He had somehow gathered thirty demons and thirty darklighters to help him battle the Charmed Ones. He smiled as he told them his plan.

**XXXXX**

As soon as Phoebe and Mel told everyone what they saw, everyone instantly went into battle mode. Everyone was assigned some task. Mel was in charge of bottling up enough of her freshly made potion, for everyone-the sisters and herself-to fight with. Piper and Leo were upstairs packing their boys, Paige and Henry went to get the book and some crystals and Phoebe and Coop were watching Wyatt and Chris. Even though then men weren't actually helping, each took the opportunity to say goodbye to their wife one last time.

**XXXXX**

(Coop and Phoebe's Goodbye)

"Do you think that this spell will work." Phoebe asked Coop. "Phoebe, you've used this spell on past demons and it worked fine. You are a very powerful witch, and you and your sisters will defeat this demon." "Yeah, but I think he's stronger than any other we faced. Or at least he knows us the best. He knows our every move even before we do. I'm not sure all of us will make it out alive. I mean I just have this weird feeling that someone is going to die." "Phoebe stop thinking like this. Everything is going to be okay. You will live and so will your sisters and your nieces. And more importantly, you will win this battle and in a few months we will welcome our daughter into this world." "Yes, we will. I love you Coop." "I love you too Phoebe." Then the two shared a quick kiss.

**XXXXX**

(Henry and Paige's Goodbye)

"So this is really happening now. Isn't it? I mean does this ever get any easier?" "Does what get easier, Henry?" "Saying goodbye before a demon battle. I mean will this be a yearly occurrence for us?" "Hopefully, not anymore. Hopefully this is the last battle." "Please stay alive. Oh and also call me the minute that it's over. Unless you want me to freak out like I did last year." "I will Henry." "Oh and also remember that you're pregnant, so take it as easy as you can, for our children's sake." "I will. I promise." "Oh and..." "Henry" Paige said cutting him off. She cupped his cheek and looked into his eyes. "Look everything will be ok. You worry too much. This isn't our first demon vanquish. We will be ok." "Okay you better be Paige. I love you." "I love you too." Paige said before being pulled in for a kiss.

**XXXXX**

(Piper and Leo's Goodbye)

"Please just stay put. For me, for us, for our children." "Piper, I'm not promising you that. In fact you should just let me stay." "I'm not going to let you die. You should know me by now. That's never something I'll let happen. Ever." "I know. Then you don't die either." "Fine, I'll do my best." "I mean it Piper." "I know Leo." "I love you." "I love you too." Piper replied before giving Leo a quick kiss on the cheek. Leo quickly grabbed her and kissed her passionately. After the kiss was over, Piper pulled away and left the room. Leo watched her leave and paused taking in everything. He wasn't sure he would ever see this room again. Because no matter what Piper said or did, there was no way he was going to leave this house during the battle.

Leo put his hand in his pocket and found the other teleportation potion that Piper had brewed earlier. He smiled and whispered "Forgive me Piper" before turning off the light and leaving the room.

**XXXXX**

Mel quickly orbed everyone out of the house. She said goodbye to her uncles, brother, and father, knowing that this was probably the last time she would see them. She fought back the tears and orbed back to the Manor. Once there the women prepared for the attack.

**XXXXX**

The hours flew by and the sisters and Mel waited for Deztrix and his band of demons to attack. They were in the attic all crouched down in different locations waiting to make their moves. Each had her own stock of potion along with various different weapons to help fight off the demons. At exactly midnight the first wave of demons attacked. There was only five of them-two of them were darklighters. Each sister fought one, while Mel fought two, and as soon as one was vanquished, two more would come. This fight went on for an hour. The sisters and Mel were already exhausted and most of their potion supply was gone. That's the moment that Deztrix flamed in.

**XXXXX**

"Ahh look, it's the Charmed Ones, and mi amor. How is everyone? Are you guys tired. Did you like my army? Sorry, I couldn't be here earlier, but I didn't want one of you to try and fight me off while the others were distracted. So I waited until my army was defeated to come and formally introduce myself to you. I'm Deztrix and I'm the one whose going to kill you."

"What makes you so sure?" Mel asked. She raised her arm to throw the last potion, but Piper stopped her. "Wait Mel," She thought. Mel looked at her mother before lowering her arm. Prue must have told Piper about Mel's telethapy. Mel turned back to Deztrix. "Oh, sweet beautiful Mel. We could have been unstoppable. We could have ruled the world together. But you had to ruin my plans. So I have to ruin you. I'll kill you last so that way you could feel the pain that your family gave to me." "Over my dead body. You are not going to touch them." And Mel tapped into her baby's powers and conjured a fireball, instantly throwing it at Deztrix.

**XXXXX**

Leo was going crazy. Coop and Henry had not left his side all night. He knew that they were trying to stop him from doing something crazy, but it was irritating. They were all locked in some hotel in some city. The sisters did their best to keep every one away. He wouldn't have been surprised if they cast some sort of spell locking them in. They didn't though. Henry was able to leave and get food and Coop had an emergency with one of his charges. Leo smiled. It was the perfect moment to leave. He quickly wrote Henry and Coop and note, grabbed the athame Mel left with them for protection, kissed his sons goodbye and teleported out.

**XXXXX**

Deztrix deflected the fireball and aimed it back at Mel. Phoebe saw that Mel was about to get hit and pushed her out of the way, getting hit herself. Paige tended to her wounds, turning her back on Deztrix. The demon smiled and summoned the final demon in his army-a darklighter, who Deztrix held back for this exact moment. Deztrix threw a fireball at Piper, hitting her on the arm, stopping her from blowing up the darklighter. He said a quick spell-one that protected the darklighter from Piper's attacks. "Kill the witchlighter first so that she can't heal her sisters." Deztrix whispered to the darklighter. The darklighter shot his arrow at Paige. Mel, who had overheard the conversation, dove in front of the arrow before it got to Paige. Before the darklighter got the chance to shot another arrow, Paige orbed the poisonous arrow out of Mel and back into the darklighter's heart, instantly killing him. Before anyone could make another move, bright lights formed and Leo appeared.

"Leo what are you doing here?" Piper yelled. Leo said nothing and Deztrix conjured a fireball, aiming it at Leo, effectively knocking him out.

**XXXXX**

"Leo. LEO." Piper screamed before running over to her husband. He was lying next to her daughter, who was slowly beginning to die. Piper began to cry. "Paige a little help here." "Crystals, circle," She replied, encircling the demon in the crystal cage. Paige ran over to Leo and healed him. She then ran over to Mel, but nothing happened. No matter how much she tried, it didn't work. "Aunt Paige, stop. I can't be healed." "What why?" "The baby is stopping me from being healed." "What do we do then?" Piper asked her daughter.

"Vanquish Deztrix. Change the future. And be quick about it. I feel my life slipping away." "Don't you dare die on me." "Mom, I'm so cold. I can't, I can't feel my legs." "Don't go, I love you." "I love you too." "No, you are not going to die this way. Please just hold on." "I have to die and take this baby with me. It's the only way to save everyone. It's the only way to stop my future from happening. I love you." Mel said, her breathing getting slower by the minute.

Piper began to cry. It was the first moment that Mel had called her 'mom.' It was also the first time Mel said that she loved Piper. Leo held onto his wife as she cried. After a few minutes she turned to her sisters. "I'll throw the potion and let's say the spell. We need to vanquish this demon now!" Her sisters nodded and started chanting the spell along with Piper, who had just thrown their last potion.

_"Prudence, Penelope Patricia, Melinda…Astrid, Helena, Laura and Grace,_

_Halliwell Witches,stand strong beside us. Vanquish this evil from time and space"_

**XXXXX**

Mel faded away just as the massive explosion came signifying Deztrix's vanquish. It was such a huge explosion that it knocked all three sisters and Leo to the floor knocking them all out cold. Piper fell on her arm and she heard the bone snap under her weight. Phoebe fell on back, hitting her neck on the way down. And both Paige and Leo hit their heads. As the blood started to pool from their various injuries, the four laid on the attic floor, waiting for the death that was surely to come.


	26. Epilogue

Piper was the first one to come to. She felt tremendous pain from her broken arm. She also looked around at her surroundings. The attic was in shambles and the front window had been completely blown up. There was a small blood pool where her adult daughter once laid, reminding Piper of everything that had happened. She found her way onto her feet and began calling for her sisters. Panic began to rise as she couldn't find them.

She quickly made her way through the attic, reminded of what had happened only a year before. She found Paige and Phoebe relatively quickly. As she examined their injuries, with her one good hand, they were alive, but she knew that they were quickly heading towards death. She called for Coop. As she waited for Coop, she made her way over to Leo. She checked his pulse and realized that he wasn't breathing. She started CPR and her calling for Coop grew that much frantic. Everything moved in slow motion as she waited for her brother-in-law.

Piper stood up. She couldn't think of facing Leo's death she turned her attention back to her sisters. However, on the table their was something that caught her eye. It was Leo's letters that he had written the day before. There were three there, one for her children, one for her sisters, and one addressed to her. Setting the first two aside, she picked up the her letter, called for Coop one last time before she sat down and started to read it. She knew that this wasn't the best time, but she couldn't stop herself. She needed to know what he had written, because these were probably going to be the last words that Leo ever thought. She took a deep breath and read:

**XXXXX**

_Dear Piper, _

_If your reading this, then that means that I am dead. That I was successful at my attempt to sacrifice myself for our family. There was nothing you could do from stopping me. I had to do this. I had to prove that I would do anything for you and our children one last time. This is the most difficult thing I have ever written. I can't even express in words all I have to say to you. _

_Please don't be mad at me. I had to do this for us, for our family. I had to make sure that our children were safe and that they had you-good you-to raise them. My death was necessary for this to happen. Even though that doesn't make sense to you now, it will with time. Trust me. _

_I hate that it had to come to this, but it was all part of my destiny. Please don't try to bring me back magically. Leave me dead, so that the future will be good for our children. I have lived more lifetimes than any other normal man, but the best one was the years I spent with you. You truly are my other half, my reason to live. This is why I had to die instead of you. If I had lost you in this battle, I wouldn't be able to go on. Actually, I think that I wouldn't have lived. That I would have died from a broken heart and our children would be orphans. _

_Our children. It makes me so sad that I'm going to miss them growing up. I'm going to miss all of their milestones. Heck, I'm even going to miss Mel's birth, Mel's first words, Mel's everything. Mel won't ever have any memories of me, which deeply saddens me. Promise me that you won't let our children forget me. Please tell them everything about me, if it's not too painful for you to do so._

_I also want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of the hurt I've caused you over the years. I'm sorry for walking out on you so many different times. I was stupid and didn't realize what I was truly missing when I left. I've come to realize that your love kept me going, and whenever I left you, I knew longer had your love-not like I deserve it. I meant what I said earlier. You definitely deserve better than me. You have always deserved better than me. _

_I almost wonder if you would have been better off with Dan. Maybe Dan, wouldn't have caused you so much pain. If I could do it all over again, I would maybe encourage you to love him more, so that I couldn't hurt you. Or maybe I would go back to when I first became an Elder. I would turn down the opportunity to become an Elder and simply ask to be mortal. And even though, you would still worry, we would be happy and together, playing Scrabble in the future (I'm also sorry for me breaking my promise there). _

_I need you to do something for me. Please, don't give up on love. I know its a strange request considering how jealous I used to be when you were with someone else, but I don't want you to spend the rest of your life unhappy and alone. Find someone who makes you happy. Someone who doesn't cause you as much pain as I ever did. Someone else who will be your rock._

_I also need to thank you Piper. You've given me one of the best lives that any man could have. Always remember that Piper. You've helped me through as much as I've helped you. I would never trade the years we spent together. Even though, I'll always wish for more. I cherish every moment spent together, no matter if it was a happy or a sad one; I'll always cherish any moment spent with you. Now I could go and list all of my favorite moments spent with you, but I don't want you to dwell on them too much. But I have a feeling you know exactly which ones are my favorites. _

_I hate that I'll never hold you in my arms again. I hate that we will never make love again. I hate that we will never have another conversation ever again. I hate that I had to leave you to raise our children all by yourself. I hate the fact that I'm not there to help you through my death. But the thing that I hate the most is that I won't ever see your beautiful smile ever again (or be the cause of your smile). Please keep smiling, so that when I peak down and check on you, I can keep seeing you smile. Your smile makes me smile. It always has. _

_I love you so much Piper. Thank you for loving me back. Thank you for everything you ever gave me. I was just a whitelighter when I met you, focused on the job, and you brought me back to life. Your love reminded me of all the good in the world. Your love brought me back to life, so please share that love with everyone. So that they too will be brought back into this world. _

_I will wait for you up here in the clouds. Maybe, I'll convince your Grams to actually like me and I'll say hi to Prue and your mother for you. Once again I love you. _

_Forever Yours, _

_Leo_

**XXXXX**

Piper reread the letter once more before breaking down into tears. She called for Coop extremely frantically. She had no idea how much time had passed or if any of her family was still alive. As she sobbed, she felt some wetness between her legs. She was in labor and in an incredible amount of pain. She looked down at her stomach and sobbed even harder. "No baby, it's not your time yet." She took a deep breath and called for Coop again. "Why isn't anyone here to help?" She shouted. After a few more minutes of calling for Coop and crying, Piper passed out from the pain.


	27. FINAL AUTHORS NOTE

Dear Readers,

ok, I know that you all hate me right now for how I ended this story, but I couldn't think of a better ending then this (especially with my plans for the sequel). Actually, you should be thanking me that I chose this ending. I had another one in mind that would definitely put me in the 'evi' column forever. It was going to be way more vague and characters would have been one hundred percent dead (I'm not saying which ones, but believe me they would have been dead). I also had another ending in mind (a happy one), but then one of lizardmomma's reviews got me thinking and I changed the ending. (Don't be mad at lizardmomma, trust me this review made the story that much better and when I write the sequel, you'll understand why).

This brings me to my second point. I posted the prequel before the sequel because the prequel is important to read before the series concludes. There is going to be a lot of overlap between the three stories and they should be read in a particular order. (I actually wish I wrote the prequel first, but it's too late now.) I also posted the prequel because I have a million different ideas for the sequel, and I want to make sure that I take the story in the right direction. I'm going to do my best to give everyone the closure that you deserve (but I'm not guaranteeing any happy endings). This also would explain the vague ending-I didn't want to trap myself into any corners.

So, I will try my hardest to finish the prequel as soon as I can, but I won't be updating it for a while. Tomorrow I'm going on vaction until Saturday and then on Monday, I go back to school. And also I am suffering from writer's block. However, the more support/reviews I get for the prequel, the more motivation I will have to work on this trilogy compared to my other stories.

Ok so please bear with me. And I promise that I won't disappear from the face of the earth for too long (i hope). Read my other stories. Thank you so much for all of your continued support.

PS if there is anything you want to see happen in either the prequel or the sequel, PM or review or contact me however, and I'll take all suggestions into consideration (and I'll give you a shout-out in my story).

Once again thank you,

Rachel (TVADDiCT11)


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